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תחיית המתים נחדל ונאור תורת חסידות חלד

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A n O v e r v i e w o f T e c h i y a s H a M e i s i m B a s e d o n t h e C lass i ca l Sources a n d

o n t h e Teach ings o f C h a h a d C h a s s i d i s m

by Rabbi Nissan Dovid Dubov

Edited by U r i Kaploun

1 wf>o r e p o s e tr> c K e t l u s C :

(Yeshayahu 26:19)

הוע|ז^הוכנם לאינטרנטwww.hebrewbl0Ks.org

!ע״חיים תשם״זS I C H O S I N E N G L I S H

7 8 8 E A S T E R N P A R K W A Y

B R O O K L Y N , N E W Y O R K 1 1 2 1 3

5756 • 1995

http://www.hebrewbl0Ks.org

TD LIVE AND LIVE AGAIN

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S i c h o s I n E n g l i s h

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Tel. (718) 778-543G

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TABLE DF CDNTENTS

Publisher's Foreword v

Author's Preface vi

Chapter 1. The Belief 1

Chapter 2. The Purpose of Creation 15

Chapter 3. The World to Come:

Why a Bodily Resurrection? 25

Chapter 4. Reincarnation 39

Chapter 5. Who W i l l Rise? 43

Chapter 6. When W i l l the Resurrection Take Place? 59

Chapter 7. Where W i l l the Resurrection Take Place? 65

Chapter 8. Who W i l l Rise First? 73

Chapter 9. In What Manner W i l l the Resurrection

Take Place? 77

Chapter 10. Life After the Resurrection 83

Chapter 11. Mitzvos After the Resurrection 11

Chapter 12. Halachic Considerations 107

Chapter 13. Prayers and Customs 113

Chapter 14. The Concept of Resurrection in Avodas HaShem 123

Appendix 1: "To Understand the Concept of Techiyas HaMeisim, The Resurrection of the Dead": A Chassidic Discourse 141

Appendix 2: " A l l Israel Have a Share in the World to Come": A Chassidic Discourse 157

V

PUBLISHER'S FDREWDRD

At some point very early in life, each of us becomes aware of how narrow the range of our vision inevitably is. Just as our mor¬tal eyes cannot look further back than the day we were born, they cannot see further ahead than a certain other day in our physical lifetimes. Little wonder, then, that whenever we encounter a word about that uncharted future from the mouth of one of our Sages or Rebbeim, whose telescopic eyes (so to speak) have been shown its secrets, every such teaching is precious. Besides, for many Jews today, the Talmudic phrase hilchesa diMeshicha ("a law for the Days of Mashiach") no longer speaks of an era that is so far ahead that it becomes irrelevant and inconceivable: it speaks of an era that the Rebbe has assured us is just around the corner.

To Live and Live Again: An Overview of Techiyas HaMeisim Based on the Classical Sources and on the Teachings of Chabad Chassidism is a pioneering work. It was researched, written and annotated by Rabbi Nissan Dovid Dubov, emissary of Chabad-Lubavitch to the South London Jewish community, based at Chabad House, Wimbledon. Rabbi Dubov's research gleans from the Tanach, Talmud, Midrash, Halachah, Kabbalah and Chas-sidus, and echoes the underlying harmony of these seemingly diverse disciplines as repeatedly demonstrated in the published talks and letters of the Lubavitcher Rebbe.

The chapter headings of this work indicate its imposing scope, ranging from "The Purpose of Creation" to "Reincarna¬tion," from "Life After the Resurrection" to "Who Wil l Rise?" The volume concludes with the full translated text of two related maamarim first delivered by the Rebbe: "To Understand the Concept of Techiyas HaMeisim, the Resurrection of the Dead," and " A l l Israel Have a Share in the World to Come."

To Live and Live Again was edited by Uri Kaploun, meticu¬lously laid out and typeset by Yosef Yitzchok Turner, its cover was designed by Avrohom Weg, and it was coordinated through all its stages of publication by the Director of Sichos In English, Rabbi Yonah Avtzon.

Sichos In English Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5756 [1995]

VI

AUTHDR'S PREFACE

The thirteenth Principle of Faith enumerated by Maimonides is belief in Techiyas HaMeisim, the Resurrection of the Dead. Resurrection figures frequently in our daily prayers and is echoed in many of our daily customs.

Though Rabbinic literature abounds with references to this subject, few are aware of its details. Certainly for the English reader, many of the primary sources are not easily accessible. Hence the present work, an overview which ranges from the Scriptures to contemporary Rabbinic writings, and is based primarily on the published talks and letters of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson.*

The writing of this book forms part of the worldwide program of study about the Messianic era and thereafter, initiated by the Rebbe. It is the hope of the author that through the publication of this and similar works, we wi l l all merit the coming of Mashiach and the Resurrection speedily in our own days.

I would like to close with a warm word of gratitude to Rabbi Yonah Avtzon, Uri Kaploun and Yosef Yitzchok Turner of Sichos In English for their loving attention to every detail, and to my wife for her constant support and encouragement in our joint shlichus.

Rabbi Nissan Dovid Dubov Wimbledon, U.K.

Rosh Chodesh Kislev, 5756 [1995]

A responsum by the Rebbe on the Resurrection was originally published in Kovetz Lubavitch, then in Teshuvos UBiurim, and later in the Rebbe's Igros Kodesh (Letters), Vol. I , p. 141ff.

CHAPTER I

THE BELIEF

" I beliEve with pErfEGt faith

that the dead will be brought

back t• life when G-d wills it t•

happen."1

RAMBAM'S D E F I N I T I O N

In his Discourse on the Resurrection,2 Rambam writes: "The concept of Resurrection — which is well known among our people and accepted throughout all its circles, and which is often mentioned in the prayers and aggadic teachings and supplications (written by the prophets and the foremost Sages) with which the Talmud and the Midrashim are replete — sig-

1. This is the 13th and last of Rambam's Principles of Faith, in the para¬phrased form that many Siddurim append to the morning prayers. (In their original form, the Principles appear in the Rambam's introduc¬tion to his Commentary on the Mishnah of Sanhedrin, ch. 10.) See also Maimonides' Principles by Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan (N.C.S.Y.).

2. Maamar Techiyas HaMeisim, (also known as Iggeres Techiyas HaMei-sim — Letter on the Resurrection), beginning of ch. 4.

ז 2 • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

nifies the following: The soul will return to the body after they have been separated [by death]. No Jew has disputed this con¬cept, and it cannot be interpreted other than literally. One may not accept the view of any Jew who believes otherwise.

"As I shall explain in the present discourse: Why should we not interpret these verses [regarding the Resurrection] alle-gorically, as we have done with many other Biblical verses, departing from their literal meaning? The reason is as follows: The concept of Resurrection, namely, that the soul wi l l return to the body after death, is expressed by Daniel 3 in such a man¬ner that it cannot be interpreted other than literally: 'Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awaken, some to everlasting life, and some to reproach and everlasting con¬tempt.' Daniel was likewise told by the angel,4 'Now go your way to the end and rest, and you shall arise to your destiny at the end of days.'"

The Talmud5 teaches that those who deny Resurrection wil l have no share in the World to Come, and Rambam in Mishneh Torah6 rules that this teaching has the authority of Halachah.

S E L E C T I O N S FROM T H E T A L M U D

[R. Elazar HaKapar7] used to say: "Those who are born are destined to die: those who are dead are destined to live again" (another version: 'to be resurrected',)."

* * *

3. Daniel 12:2. 4. Ibid., v. 13. 5. Sanhedrin 90a. 6. Hilchos Teshuvah 3:6. 7. Avos ("Ethics of the Fathers") 4:22.

T H E B E L I E F 3

A l l 8 Israel have a share in the World to Come....9 The fol¬lowing, however, have no share therein: He who maintains that Resurrection is not a Biblical doctrine 1 0

* * *

How 1 1 is Resurrection deduced from the Torah?12

8. Sanhedrin 90a, in the mishnah. 9. See at length in ch. 5 and in Appendix 2 (below). See also Rashi on

the above-quoted mishnah. Midrash Shmuel on Avos understands Rashi to mean — and Bartenura holds likewise — that although the previous chapter of Sanhedrin referred to those liable for capital pun¬ishment, they too have a share in the World to Come.

In the Hebrew text, the literal translation of the above-quoted phrase is not "in the World to Come" but "to the World to Come" ¬See Margaliyos HaYam, citing Ruach Chaim, for an ex .(לעולם הבא)planation of this observation and others.

The phrase "to the World to Come" calls to mind a teaching of the Rebbe Rayatz on the following phrase from the Mishnah (Berachos 1:5) that is quoted in the Haggadah: ל ימי חייך: להביא לימות המשיח — כ"The phrase 'All the days of your life' includes (lit., 'is to bring') the Messianic Era." The plain meaning of this phrase is that the Exodus is to be recalled not only during the days of our present life, but even in the days of the Messianic Era. Noting the literal meaning of the verb lehavi ("to bring"), the Rebbe Rayatz perceived an additional teaching in these words: Throughout all the days of your life, your avodah should be directed to bringing about the days of Mashiach.

Along these lines, in the phrase " A l l Israel have a share to the World to Come" one may perhaps find a hint that every Jew should play an active role in hastening the advent of the World to Come.

10. Rashi comments: "I.e., he denies the validity of the Scriptural inter¬pretations — at the [non-literal] level of derush — through which the Gemara below proceeds to derive Scriptural authority for the concept of Resurrection. Even i f he concedes and believes that the dead wil l be resurrected, but denies that this belief is alluded to in the Torah, he is a heretic (kofer). Since he denies its Biblical source, of what value to us is his faith? From where does he know that this is the case? Accordingly, he is unequivocally considered a heretic."

The author of Beer Sheva states that the above thought is originally quoted in Yad Ramah (יד רמייה) in the name of Rabbeinu Shlomo. See also the Responsa of Rashba, sec. 9.


It is written, 1 3 "Of [these tithes] you shall give G-d's heave-offering to Aharon the priest." But would Aharon live forever?! After all, he did not enter the Land of Israel and thereby make it possible that terumah be given to him! Rather, this verse teaches that he wi l l ultimately be resurrected, and the Jewish people wi l l give him terumah....14

* * *

R. Simai 1 1 says: "Whence do we learn Resurrection from the Torah? — From the verse,15 'And I also have established My covenant with them (i.e., the Patriarchs) to give them the Land of Canaan.' The verse does not say 'to give you' but 'to give them.' [Since, as Rashi points out, the Land was given to their descendants, and has not yet been given to them per¬sonally,] their future Resurrection is thus proved from the Torah."

* * *

Sectarians11 asked Rabban Gamliel: "From where do we know that the Holy One, blessed be He, wi l l resurrect the dead?"

He answered them from the Torah, the Prophets and the Hagiographa

* * *

11. Sanhedrin 90b. 12. In the expositions that follow, the word "Torah" sometimes embraces

the entire Tanach. See at length in Margaliyos HaYam on Sanhedrin 92a, sec. 3.

13. Bamidbar 18:28. 14. See ch. 11 below. 15. Shmos 6:4. See Maharsha and Rif on Ein Yaakov.

The Gemara in Sanhedrin 90b quotes a similar verse (Devarim 11:21, which is read in the course of the daily Shema) as part of Rab-ban Gamliel's response to the heretics. Ben Yehoyada (on Sanhedrin, loc. cit.) discusses why Rabban Gamliel did not instead refer his dis¬putants to the earlier verse in Shmos.

T H E B E L I E F 5

Queen11 Cleopatra said to R. Meir: " I know that the dead wi l l live again, for it is written, 1 6 'And they shall blossom out of the city like grass from the earth';17 but when they arise, wi l l they arise naked or clothed?"

He replied, "You may deduce the answer by observing a wheat grain. 1 8 I f a grain of wheat, which is buried naked, sprouts forth in many robes, how much more so the righteous, who are buried in their garments."

An 1 1 emperor said to Rabban Gamliel: "You maintain that the dead wi l l live again; but they turn to dust — and can dust come to life?!"

Thereupon the [emperor's] daughter19 said to [Rabban Gamliel]: "Here, let me answer him. In our town there are two potters: one fashions his vessels from water, and the other from clay. Who is the more praiseworthy?"

"He who fashions them from water," replied [her father].

16. Tehillim 72:16. 17. Citing Kesubbos 111a, Rashi teaches that the righteous wil l pass

through subterranean tunnels and be resurrected in Jerusalem. See ch. 7 below.

18. The Gemara often draws analogies with the wheat grain. (In Kesubbos 111b the Gemara cites the same answer in the name of R. Chiya bar Yosef.) Ben Yehoyada (on Sanhedrin 91a) points out that arguments of this kind are intended merely to provide additional support for beliefs which are based on Biblical verses. He aptly quotes the verse (Devarim 8:3), "Man does not live by bread alone: man lives on that which comes forth from G-d's mouth," and concludes: Ultimately, our faith is not nourished by arguments based on a grain of wheat, but by the words that come forth from G-d's mouth.

19. Why did she interject? Ben Yehoyada explains that since she was afraid that Rabban Gamliel might say that gentiles would not be resur¬rected, she offered her own inoffensive answer. He goes on to explain that the emperor in fact believed in G-d, but he was perplexed by the concept of Resurrection, for it appeared to defy the principle that "there is nothing new under the sun" (Koheles 1:9). Hence his daugh¬ter's answer: any process which already exists may be a prototype for Resurrection.

G ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

She concluded: " I f He can fashion man from water,20 surely he can do so from clay." 2 1

* * *

According 2 2 to the School of R. Yishmael, [ in the above exchange the emperor's daughter answered her father with] a different analogy: I f glassware, made by the breath of mere flesh and blood, can be reconstituted when shattered, then how much more so man, who was created by the breath of the Holy One, blessed be He.

* * *

A 2 2 sectarian challenged R. Ami: "You maintain that the dead wi l l live again; but they turn to dust — and can dust come to life?!"

He replied, "Let me offer you a parable. A mortal king commanded his servants to build him great palaces in a place where there was neither water nor earth [for making bricks]. They went and built them. After some time they collapsed, so he commanded them to rebuild them in a place which did have water and earth, but they said, 'We cannot.' The king was in¬dignant: ' I f you could build in a place that had neither water nor earth, surely you can build in a place where there is!'" 2 3

R. Ami concluded: "And i f you do not believe [that G-d can form creatures from dust], go out to the field and you wi l l see a certain mouse; today it is part flesh and part dust,24 and

20. Rashi: "From a drop of semen which resembles water." 21. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X V I I I , p. 247. 22. Sanhedrin 91a. 23. Rashi offers two alternative ways of understanding this parable: (a) If

G-d can create man from a small drop which is almost intangible, surely He can create him from dust; (b) G-d created the entire uni¬verse out of chaos.

24. Margaliyos HaYam cites Tiferes Yisrael on Chullin 9:6 to the effect that such a mouse exists in Egypt.

T H E B E L I E F 7

yet by tomorrow it has become entirely flesh. And should you say that this metamorphosis takes a long time ['and hence argue that G-d does not revive the dead in an instant' — Rashi], go up to the mountain; there you wi l l see but one snail, whilst after tomorrow's rain the mountain wi l l be covered with snails ['which are generated immediately' — Rashi]."

* * *

A 2 2 sectarian said to Geviha ben Pesisa: "Woe to you, you wicked ones, who maintain that the dead wi l l revive! The living indeed die, but shall the dead live?!"

He replied: "Woe to you, you wicked ones, who maintain the dead wi l l not revive. I f those who never lived, now live, surely those who have lived, wi l l live again!"

* * *

Resh Lakish 2 5 contrasted two verses: "One verse prom-ises,26 ' I wi l l gather them in...; among them there wi l l be the blind and the lame, the woman with child together with the woman in labor.' Another verse, however, states:27 "Then shall the lame man leap like a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing, for waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.' How so? — They shall rise with their defects28 and then be healed."

* * *

Ulla 2 5 contrasted two verses: " I t is written, 2 9 'He wi l l de¬stroy death forever, and G-d wi l l wipe away tears from all

25. Sanhedrin 91b. 26. Yirmeyahu 31:8. 27. Yeshayahu 35:6. 28. And thus be identifiable (Bereishis Rabbah 95:1 J See also Margaliyos

HaYam, and ch. 9 below. 29. Yeshayahu 25:8.

s ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

faces,' whilst elsewhere it is written, 3 0 'For a child shall die a hundred years old....' However, this presents no difficulty: one verse refers to Jews, the other to heathens. But what business have heathens there? — The reference is to those of whom it is written, 3 1 'And strangers shall stand and pasture your flocks, and the sons of the alien shall be your plowmen and your vine-dressers.'"32

* * *

Rava25 also contrasted two quotations: " I t is written, 3 3 ' I k i l l , and I make alive.' [Rashi: 'This implies that a man is res¬urrected in the same state (e.g., wounded) as he was at the time of death.'y The same verse goes on to say, ' I have wounded, and I heal!' [Rashi: 'This implies that a wounded man is resurrected whole.7 Yet there is no contradiction here, for in this verse the Holy One, blessed be He, is saying: 'What I k i l l I make alive' [i.e., in the same state], and 'What I have wounded, I then heal.'" 3 4

* * *

On 2 5 the verse,33 " I k i l l , and I make alive," our Sages com¬mented: "One might understand this to mean, ' I k i l l one person and give life to another,' as is the way of the world, ['so that one man dies and another is born' — Rashi]. The same verse therefore goes on to say, ' I have wounded, and I heal.' Just as wounding and healing [obviously] refer to the same person, so putting to death and bringing to life refer to the same person. This is an answer to those who maintain that Resurrection is not intimated in the Torah."

* * *

30. Ibid. 65:20. 31. Ibid. 61:5. 32. See ch. 10 below. 33. Devarim 32:39. 34. Rashi: "As with the above teaching [of Resh Lakish]."

T H E B E L I E F a

R. Meir 2 5 said: "From where do we learn Resurrection from the Torah? — From the verse,35 אז ישיר משה ('Moshe and the Children of Israel then sang this song to G-d'). The literal meaning of the verb is not 'sang' but 'shall sing.' Thus Techiyas HaMeisim is taught in the Torah." 3 6

* * *

R. Yehoshua ben Levi 2 5 said: "Where is Resurrection de¬rived from the Torah? — From the verse,37 אשרי יושבי ביתך, עוד Happy are those who dwell in Your house; they') יהללוך סלהshall praise You forever'). The verse does not say, 'they praised You,' but 'they shall praise you.' Thus Techiyas HaMeisim is taught in the Torah.

* * *

R. Chiya bar Abba 2 5 said in the name of R. Yochanan: "Where in the Torah do we learn of Resurrection? — From the verse,38 'The voice of your watchmen is raised aloft: together shall they sing.' The verb ו does not mean 'sang' but 'shall אתנsing'. Here, then, is a source in the Torah for Techiyas HaMei-sim.

* * *

Rava39 said: "Where is Resurrection derived from the Torah? — From the verse,40 'May Reuven live and not die.' [This seeming repetition implies:] 'May Reuven live in this world, and not die in the next."

35. Shmos 15:1. 36. Margaliyos HaYam cites many sources for this teaching in the Zohar. 37. Tehillim 84:5. 38. Yeshayahu 52:8. 39. Sanhedrin 92a. 40. Devarim 33:6.

ז סו • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

Ravina said it is derived from this verse:3 "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awaken, some to ever¬lasting life, and some to reproach and everlasting contempt."4 1

R. Ashi said it is derived from this verse:4 "Now go your way to the end and rest, and you shall arise to your destiny at the end of days."

* * *

R. Tavi 3 9 said in the name of R. Yoshia: "What do we learn from the following text?4 2 'There are three things that are never satisfied:... the grave and the womb....' How comes the grave next to the womb? — This juxtaposition teaches you that just as the womb takes in and gives forth again, so the grave takes in and wi l l give forth again. Moreover, i f the womb which takes in silently gives forth with loud noise [i.e., the crying of the in¬fant], does it not stand to reason that the grave which takes in with a loud noise [i.e., the wailing of the mourners], wi l l give forth [those who are revived] with a loud noise?43 Here is an

41. "The verse does not say 'all who sleep...shall awaken,' because this... would include all of mankind, and G-d made this promise only to Israel; hence the verse says, 'Many of those who sleep...shall awaken.' Moreover: the phrase, 'some to everlasting life, and some to reproach and everlasting contempt,' does not mean that among those who are resurrected some wil l be rewarded and some punished, for those who deserve punishment wi l l not be resurrected at the time of the Re¬demption. Rather, it means that those who awaken wil l have everlast¬ing life, and those who wil l not awaken wi l l be destined to reproach and everlasting contempt. For all the righteous [including those] who repented, wi l l live; only the unbelieving and those who died without repentance wil l remain. A l l this wi l l happen at the time of the Re¬demption." — R. Saadiah Gaon, Emunos VeDeos, ch. 7.

See also Ibn Ezra (ad loc.); Rambam, Peirush HaMishnah, on San-hedrin, ch. 10; Ramban, Shaar HeGemul, ch. 11; Or HaShem, Part 3, 4:4, p. 77. See, however, Abarbanel, Maayanei HaYeshuah, p. 11a.

42. Mishlei 30:15, 16. 43. Rashi cites the verse (Yeshayahu 27:13), "And it shall be on that day,

that a great Shofar shall be sounded...." The Midrash entitled Osios deRabbi Akiva elaborates (sec. 9): "How wil l the A-mighty resurrect

T H E B E L I E F

answer for those who deny that Techiyas HaMeisim is taught in the Torah."

* * *

Tanna dvei Eliyahu39 states: "The righteous whom G-d wil l resurrect wi l l not revert to dust, for it is said,4 4 'And it shall come to pass that he who is left in Zion and he who remains in Jerusalem shall be called holy: everyone in Jerusalem who is inscribed for life.' Just as the Holy One endures forever, so too shall they endure forever."

* * *

Three4 5 keys have not been entrusted to an agent: the keys to birth, rain and Resurrection.46

* * *

R. Eleazar47 said: "The illiterate wi l l not be resurrected, for it is written, 4 8 'The dead wi l l not live...,' but since this might be assumed to refer to all, the verse goes on to say, 'The shades of the dead (רפאים) shall not rise,' thus alluding specifically to him who is lax (מרפה עצמו) in studying the words of the Torah."

the dead in the time to come? He wil l take up a Shofar a thousand cubits long and wil l sound it, and it wi l l reverberate from one end of the world to another. With the first blast the world wi l l be in an up¬roar; with the second, the earth wil l split," and so on. See also Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, sec. 34.

44. Yeshayahu 4:3. 45. Sanhedrin 113a. 46. Cf. the mishnah at the end of Tractate Sotah, "Resurrection comes

through Eliyahu (the Prophet Elijah)." (According to Emek HaMelech, Shaar Olam HaTohu, sec. 29, this means that the key to the dew of Resurrection was entrusted to the hands of Eliyahu.) The Jerusalem Talmud (Shekalim 3:3) states, "Resurrection brings about [the coming of] Eliyahu." See the comment of Ran on Avodah Zarah 20b.

47. Kesubbos 111b. See also Tanna dvei Eliyahu, sec. 5. 48. Yeshayahu 26:14.


Said R. Yochanan to him: " I t gives no satisfaction to their Master that you should speak of such people in this manner.49

That text speaks of a man who was so lax as to worship idols!"

Replied [R. Elazar]: "Then let me base my exposition [to the same effect] on another text. It is written, 5 0 '[Your dead shall live, my dead body shall arise; awake and sing, you who repose in the dust.] For Your dew is a dew of light, and the earth shall cast down the shades of the dead.' This means that he who makes use of the light of the Torah, him wi l l the light 5 1

of the Torah revive, but as to him who does not make use of the light of the Torah, him wi l l the light of the Torah not revive."

Observing however, that [R. Yochanan] was [still] dis¬tressed, [R. Elazar] said to him: "Master, I have found a rem¬edy for [the illiterate] in the Torah, for it is written, 5 2 'But you who cleave to the L-rd your G-d are all alive today.' Now is it possible to cleave to the Divine Presence, concerning Whom it is written, 5 3 'For the L-rd your G-d is a consuming fire'?! The meaning is this: Any man who marries his daughter to a scholar, invests on behalf of scholars, or benefits scholars from

49. "G-d does not desire that you judge Israel so harshly" (Rashi on the same sentence in Sanhedrin 111a).

50. Yeshayahu 26:19. 51. A footnote in Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X I , p. 193, observes that Yalkut

Shimoni on this verse writes that "the dew of the Torah wil l revive him"; so, too, Tanya, ch. 36. See also: Jerusalem Talmud, Berachos 5:2; Shabbos 88b; Likkutei Torah, Parshas Haazinu, p. 73c.

The maamar entitled Samchuni (in Sefer HaMaamarim 5660) ex¬plains that or Torah ("the light of the Torah") signifies razin (the se¬crets of the Torah) while tal Torah ("the dew of the Torah") signifies razin derazin (the innermost secrets of the Torah).

52. Devarim 4:4. 53. Ibid., v. 24.

T H E B E L I E F 13

his estate is regarded by the Torah as if he had cleaved to the Divine Presence."

* * *

R. Chiya bar Yosef47 said: "A time wi l l come when the righteous wi l l break through the soil and rise up in Jerusalem, for it is written, 1 6 'And they shall blossom out of the city like grass from the earth'1 7 — and 'city' can allude only to Jerusa¬lem, as in the phrase,54 'For I shall defend this city.'"

54. II Melachim 19:34.

15

C H A P T E R 2

T H E P U R P D S E D F C R E A T I O N

" T h e purpose far which this

I world was created is that

the Holy Dne, blessed be He,

desired to have an abode in the

lower worlds."55

W O R L D S : D I V I N E S E L F - C O N C E A L M E N T

Since the beginning of time, man has grappled with the question, "What is the purpose of Creation?" And, the greatest thinkers among our people have answered it in different ways.56

55. Likkutei Amarim — Tanya, ch. 36, paraphrasing Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Naso, sec. 16.

56. The first discourse in Sefer HaMaamarim 5666 by the Rebbe Rashab, R. Shalom Dovber of Lubavitch, discusses all the reasons for creation enumerated in the Zohar and Etz Chaim, and the various expositions of the above-quoted Midrash. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V I , p. 18ff.

IB ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

The exposition of R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi 5 7 — the first Lubavitcher Rebbe, known by chassidim as "the Alter Rebbe" — is based on the Midrash paraphrased above, that the pur¬pose of creation is that G-d wished to have a dirah betach-tonim,58 a dwelling place in the lower worlds.

What is meant by "worlds"?5 9

G-d is infinite. He is perfection. Accordingly, His power extends not only throughout the realm of the infinite: He em¬braces both infinite and finite powers. And in order for Him to create this finite world, it was (so to speak) necessary for Him to conceal the infinite and reveal the finite.

A concealment of G-d's true essence is called a "world". This is reflected in the Holy Tongue, in which עולם (olam — "world"J shares a root with העלם (he'elem — "concealment",).

The Kabbalah describes how G-d created the world not in one step, but rather in a gradated process called Seder Hishtal-shelus — the chainlike scheme by which the creative Divine light undergoes successive stages of self-concealment in the course of its descent from G-d's ethereal transcendence to the creation of tangible physicality. Each successive link in the chain is a further concealment of the infinite, and a further revelation of the finite.

57. Tanya, chs. 36 and 37. 58. I.e., a home in the lowest of all worlds. 59. For a full discussion, see Mystical Concepts in Chassidism, by R.

Jacob Immanuel Schochet, that is also appended to the bilingual edi¬tion of Tanya. See also The Thirteen Petalled Rose, by R. Adin Even-Yisrael (Steinsaltz).

T H E P U R P D S E D F C R E A T I D N 17

T H E F O U R W O R L D S

In general terms, there are (in descending order) Four Worlds:

1. Atzilus — the World of Emanation;

2. Beriah — the World of Creation;

3. Yetzirah — the World of Formation;

4. Asiyah — the World of Action.

These Worlds correspond to the four letters of the Tetra-grammaton, the Divine Name: the letter yud corresponds to the World of Atzilus, the upper letter hei corresponds to Beriah, the letter vav to Yetzirah, and the lower letter hei to Asiyah.

The greatest degree of Divine self-concealment, i.e., the lowest of the worlds, is Asiyah, the World of Action. This is where "our world" and "we" are. In this world G-d has con¬cealed His Presence so severely and so efficiently, that it is possible for people here to actually (heaven forfend) deny His existence.

I t is only in such a world, where only the trained eye wi l l perceive the Creator, that free choice may be given to man; hence it is only in such a world that reward and punishment are warranted. In the "higher" worlds, by contrast, G-d's Pres¬ence is so indisputably manifest that the angels who inhabit the Worlds of Beriah and Yetzirah have no free choice. Indeed, so directly do they experience G-d's Presence that they stand continually in a state of awe.

This was G-d's wi l l — that there also be created a world whose creatures could not see G-d. Accordingly, he did not endow the physical eye with the capability to see Him. Only with the mind's eye can the Divine be apprehended, and this is

IS ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

made possible by G-d's self-revelation. For example, when G-d gave our people the Torah, the blueprint of Creation, He is described as having "come down" on Mt. Sinai. Since He is everywhere, this phrase is merely a metaphor for revelation.6 0

The revelation of the infinite light of G-d's Essence radi¬ates in any of ten modes. The first of these ten emanating Divine attributes or Sefiros is called Chochmah (lit., "wisdom"). This wisdom is embodied in the Torah,6 1 and just as G-d existed before the world was created, so too did His wisdom then exist. Indeed, to quote the metaphor of the Zohar,62 G-d "looked into the Torah and created the world," rather like a builder looking into the architect's plans.

T H E T A S K O F MANKIND

Having hidden Himself in this world, G-d then entrusted man with the task of revealing its true essence, and transform¬ing its darkness into light — transforming the world's superfi¬cial obscurity into an environment in which G-d's Presence is felt, and in which He feels (so to speak) at home.

For mankind at large, this task entails the observance of the Seven Noachide Laws6 3 that provide any society with civi¬lized foundations; for Jews, this task entails the observance of the 613 commandments of the Torah. In the Holy Tongue, the word meaning "commandment" (מצוה — mitzvah) shares a root with the Aramaic word for "connection" (צותא — tzavsa). In other words, the observance of each particular mitzvah has its own distinctive way of connecting the individual with the Giver

60. See Targum on Shmos 19:20. 61. See Tanya, chs. 3, 23. 62. Zohar I , 134a. 63. In the original, sheva mitzvos bnei Noach.

T H E P U R P D S E D F C R E A T I D N IB

of the commandments. By setting up all 613 connections with G-d, 6 4 we reveal His Presence on earth; we fashion the dwelling place, the dirah betachtonim, that He desired.

This explains why it is in this physical world, in the World of Action, that the commandments must be fulfilled, for their function is to refine and elevate the world. In our present cir¬cumstances, however, the physical world can be uplifted only to a certain degree. Not until the Messianic Era, and thereafter in the time of Resurrection, wi l l all mankind be sufficiently sensitized to perceive G-d. At that time, when all creatures wi l l know their Creator, His dwelling place wi l l be complete. The ultimate purpose of creation is thus the Messianic Era and the period that follows it.

This revelation, however, depends on our actions and Divine service throughout the duration of the present galus ("exile"). 6 5

Our life in this exile is as unreal and as inconsistent as a dream. In a dream, one can envisage anomalies; one can see oneself walking on the ceiling. Likewise, in the present state of galus, we can know all about G-d, yet at the same time be occasionally oblivious to His commandments. Contrasting with this dreamlike unreality, the true reality of the world wi l l become apparent in the days of Mashiach. As steps in this direction, our entire service of G-d, both through Torah study and through the observance of the mitzvos, should thus be directed to constructing G-d's dwelling on earth, which wi l l attain completion in the days of Mashiach.66

64. See Tanya, ch. 23. 65. Ibid., ch. 37. 66. Through the observance of mitzvos the dwelling place in the lower

worlds is in fact being built now (in the time of galus), but it wi l l be¬come manifest only in the days of Mashiach. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V, p. 240.

2D ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

" I H A V E C O M E TO M Y G A R D E N "

These constructive steps are the opening theme of the last discourse published by the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, R. Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (the Rebbe Rayatz), before his passing on Yud Shvat 5710 [1950]. 6 7 This maamar, entitled Basi LeGani, opens with a quotation from the Song of Songs:68

" I have come to My garden, My sister, My bride." And the comment of the Midrash on this verse provides the maamar with a starting point for its discussion of the ultimate purpose of Creation.

The Midrash enables one to appreciate that Shir HaShirim is not a simple love song; rather, it is a sustained metaphor describing the ongoing relationship between G-d and His peo¬ple. The above verse, for example, which speaks of G-d's return to His garden, alludes to the time of the construction of the Mishkan, the Sanctuary in the wilderness, for then the Shechinah, the Divine Presence, was again revealed on earth. The Midrash points out further that the word גני (gani — "My garden",), especially in the possessive form, suggests the privacy of גנוני (genuni — "My bridal chamber"). From this perspective, the verse relays this message: " I have come into My bridal chamber, to the place in which My essence was originally revealed."

The Midrash continues: " In the beginning, the essence of the Shechinah was apparent in this lowly world. However, in the wake of the [cosmic] sin of the Tree of Knowledge, the Shechinah departed from the earth and rose into the heavens. Later, on account of the sin of Cain and then of Enosh, the Shechinah withdrew even further from this world, rising from

67. See the annotated English translation entitled Basi LeGani (Kehot, N.Y., 1990), prepared for publication by Sichos In English.

68. Shir HaShirim 5:1.


the nearest heaven to the second, and then to the third. Later yet, the sins of the generation of the Deluge caused it to recede from the third heaven to the fourth, and so on [After the sins of seven generations had caused the Shechinah to withdraw seven spiritual levels from its initial manifestation in this world], seven tzaddikim arose whose service of G-d drew the Divine Presence down once more into this world below. Through the merit of Avraham the Shechinah was brought down from the seventh heaven to the sixth, through the merit of Yitzchak the Shechinah was brought down from the sixth heaven to the fifth, and so on — until Moshe, the seventh of these tzaddikim,... drew the revelation of the Shechinah down once again into this world below."

Now, how can one speak of the Divine Presence withdraw¬ing or retreating from this world? After all, the continuous Creator of the universe is of necessity constantly present in it: were He for one moment to withhold the input of His creative life-force from the universe, it would cease to exist.69

"Presence" and "withdrawal" therefore really relate to whether or not the world feels G-d's nearness, for sometimes the spirit of folly which persuades a man to sin can camouflage the truth and dull his spiritual sensitivity. In this sense, then, the Divine Presence can be said to have withdrawn.

A tzaddik, through his Divine service, can bring that Pres¬ence back to the world. Thus, as recounted above, it was Moshe Rabbeinu, the seventh of the early tzaddikim, who finally brought the Shechinah to rest in the Mishkan.

The centrality of this event is reflected in the contents of the Chumash, the Five Books of Moses. Its narrative begins with creation and continues with the Egyptian bondage and redemption. Thereafter, surprisingly, it is predominantly oc¬cupied with the travails of the forty years of wandering in the

69. Tanya — Shaar HaYichud VehaEmunah, ch. 2; see Lessons In Tanya (Kehot, N.Y., 1989), Vol. I I I , p. 843ff.


desert, the building of the Mishkan, and the sacrifices.70

Moreover, it ends abruptly with the death of Moshe and leaves the account of the people's entry to the Land for the Book of Yehoshua (Joshua).

The lesson is simple. The Torah is pointing to the purpose of creation. The early stages of its narrative are thus merely a prelude to Sinai, where the Torah was given in order to enable man below to build G-d a dwelling place, as embodied in the physical Mishkan. This progression encapsulates a directive for our entire history: In whatever spiritual wilderness a Jew may find himself, his task is to build a Mishkan, a place where the Divine Presence can feel at home.

F I R S T , S E C O N D — AND T H I R D

A further stage in this historical progression towards creat¬ing the perfect Divine dwelling place was the construction in Jerusalem of the first Beis HaMikdash and then the Second. Our people's sinfulness, however, brought about their destruc¬tion, leaving the task of construction unfinished — until the long exile in which we still find ourselves wi l l finally end when Mashiach comes and builds the Third Beis HaMikdash. At that point, the Divine Presence wi l l again be revealed in the world.

Without this revelation, Judaism is incomplete. For one thing, only in the Messianic Era wi l l it be possible to properly

70. In the above-quoted maamar entitled Basi LeGani, the Rebbe Rayatz explains how the Divine service of offering sacrifices in the Mishkan (and later in the Beis HaMikdash) parallels today's continuing Divine service of sacrificing the animal soul within man. This elevation of man's animalistic nature is essential to the process of constructing G-d's dwelling place, for this must be located even in the "lowest" elements of Creation, i.e., in our animal souls. (On the animal and Divine souls within man see Tanya, chs. 1 and 2.)


observe all the mitzvos.71 Waiting and yearning for Mashiach is therefore a natural feeling for a Jew. Believing and waiting for him to come is a fundamental principle of the faith. For the coming of Mashiach is not only a reward but a fulfillment of the purpose of creation.

This manifestation of the Divine Presence in the physical world, which constitutes the consummation of Creation, is no novelty, for this lowly world was the dwelling place of the Shechinah from the beginning of Creation.72 How can that manifestation now be renewed? The Rebbeim of Chabad-Lubavitch have taught that the urgent task of our era is to dis¬seminate the teachings of Torah and Chassidus in every corner of the world. 7 3

Contemplating this formidable challenge, a mere individual might well argue: Since this world has apparently been created so evil that it is 7 4 "full of kelipos and sitra achara," how possibly could (or should) he have any effect on it? Would it not be more productive and more inviting to confine oneself, uninterrupted and unchallenged, to tranquil halls of study... ?

This argument, however, is unfounded. For the above Midrash indicates that the evil which is so prevalent in the world is not part of its essence, but rather a component that was added as a result of the sin of Adam. Indeed, this lowly physical world enjoys a paradoxical superiority over the "higher" worlds in that this was the main resting place of the

71. Cf. ch. 11 below. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X X I , p. 114; Vol. X X V I , p. 225; Vol. XXXIV, p. 114ff.

72. Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V I , p. 81ff. 73. On Rosh HaShanah, 5507 (1746), when the soul of the Baal Shem Tov

— the founder of Chassidism — ascended to the heavenly abode of Mashiach, he asked: "Master, when wil l you come?" And Mashiach replied, "When the wellsprings of your teachings wil l be disseminated far and wide." (See Keser Shem Tov (Kehot, N.Y.), p. 3.)

74. Tanya, ch. 36.


Shechinah. And since the world is created anew ex nihilo every single second69 because of G-d's desire to have a dwelling place in this world, no action of man can hold back the ulti¬mate revelation which wi l l fulfill G-d's purpose.

In time to come, when 7 5 " I shall remove the spirit of evil from the earth," every created being wi l l see that the Divine Presence has returned to its original abode. Since the inter¬mediate condition is reversible, it is not halachically consid¬ered a change.76 In truth the world is thus now, even in its pre¬sent state, a dwelling place for the Shechinah, and our task is to make that inner truth manifest. As we pray on Rosh HaSha-nah,7 7 "May everything that has been made know that You have made i t . " Or, in the words of the prophetic promise, in time to come78 "the world wi l l be filled with the knowledge of G-d as the waters cover the ocean bed."

At that time, moreover, we wi l l be able to perceive the function of evil from a more charitable perspective. In the past, the creation of evil has always appeared to constitute a steep descent in the world's spiritual history. Yet evil was created in order that its darkness should eventually be transformed to light, thus enabling the Shechinah to be sensed. In future time, therefore, the creation of evil wi l l be perceived as having been a positive and necessary stage in the ascent that wi l l come about through its transformation.79

The next chapter further explores this developmental proc¬ess of revelation by first defining the meaning of "the World to Come."

75. Zechariah 13:2. 76. Sukkah 30b; Bava Kama 86b. 77. Machzor for Rosh HaShanah with English Translation (trans. R. Nis-

sen Mangel; Kehot, N.Y., 1983), p. 32. 78. Yeshayahu 11:9. 79. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V, p. 66.

25

C H A P T E R 3

T H E W O R L D ז C ם O M E :

W H Y A B O D I L Y R E S U R R E C T I O N ?

" A II Israel have a share in the MWor ld tD CDme.״B[

T H E B A S I C C O N C E P T I O N

The above assurance is perhaps the most commonly quoted of the many Talmudic references to Olam HaBa, the World to Come. Yet there are two schools of thought as to what the Tal¬mud means by this term.

Before these two views are distinguished, however, it should be noted that the following basic conception of the soul and its descent to this world is shared by all the thinkers con¬cerned:

80. Sanhedrin 11:1.

2G ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

The soul, being 8 1 "a part of G-d," is immortal: it exists both before its descent into the body and after its departure.

The purpose of the descent is twofold:8 2

(a) By serving G-d while enclothed in the body below, the soul is enabled to upgrade the status that it wi l l enjoy after leaving the body. Its descent was thus undertaken for the sake of a subsequent ascent.83 (Conversely, i f the soul fails in its mission, it later finds itself below the level which it left before descending into the body.)

(b) The refining of the body and the physical world.

How is this done?

King Solomon says (Mishlei 20:27): "The soul of man is a lamp of G-d." But why does the Creator of light need a lamp? — Because since the world is dark, the soul of man (a spark from the Divine luminary) is placed within the body and the physical world in order to illuminate it. By thus revealing the hidden Presence of G-d, the soul constructs a dwelling place for Him.

The two schools of thought as to what the Talmud means by the World to Come may be outlined as follows:

T H E V I E W O F RAMBAM

Rambam84 maintains that the World to Come (Olam HaBa) is the World of Souls (Olam HaNeshamos), which is often

81. Tanya, ch. 2. 82. Ibid., ch. 37. 83. In the original, yeridah tzorech aliyah (cf. Tanya, end of ch. 31). 84. Hilchos Teshuvah 8:8. See also: Midrash Tanchuma, Vayikra, sec. 8;

Rabbeinu Bachya, Chovos HaLevavos 4:4; R. Yehudah HaLevi, Kuzari 1:109; R. Yosef Albo, Ikkarim 4:30, 33; R. Yeshayahu HaLevi Hor¬owitz, Shnei Luchos HaBris: Beis David 1:16d.

T H E W D R L D T D C D M E : W H Y A B D D I L Y R E S U R R E C T I D N ? 27

referred to as the Garden of Eden (Gan Eden). It is from this pool of souls in the spiritual realms that every soul departs when it is about to descend into a body, and it is to this same state that the soul returns when it leaves the body at the con¬clusion of its mission.8 5 Ultimately, when the time comes for the Resurrection, this wi l l be (as conceived by Rambam) a transient stage, for after the Resurrection the body wi l l again die, and the soul wi l l return to the World to Come, i.e., to the World of Souls.

T H E V I E W O F T H E O T H E R MAJOR A U T H O R I T I E S

In contrast to the view of Rambam, most authorities86 hold that the phrase "World to Come" in the Talmud refers to the era of the Resurrection of the Dead. (This state is called Olam HaTechiyah; literally, "the World of the Resurrection.")

It goes without saying that both Resurrection and the World of Souls are fundamental concepts in the thinking of all the authorities concerned.87 The difference lies in the following question: What is the ultimate good which the Jewish people wi l l merit? Is it the spiritual World of Souls, as Rambam maintains, or (as conceived by most authorities) wi l l that good become manifest within the context of material reality at the time of the Resurrection of the Dead?

85. See also: R. Jacob Immanuel Schochet, Mystical Concepts in Chassi-dism (Kehot, N.Y.); R. Adin Steinsaltz, The Thirteen Petalled Rose.

86. Rabbeinu Saadiah Gaon, Emunos VeDeos 6:4 (end of sec. 47 and sec. 49); Raavad on Hilchos Teshuvah of the Rambam 8:8; Ramban, Shaar HaGmul; Kesef Mishneh 8:2; Shnei Luchos HaBris: Beis David; Chida, Avodas HaKodesh 2:41; Likkutei Torah by the Alter Rebbe, Parshas Tzav, sec. 2 of the second of the maamarim entitled Sheishes Yamim; Likkutei Torah, sec. 1 of the Biur on the first of the maamarim entitled Shuvah Yisrael.

87. See Ikkarim 4:31; Kesef Mishneh 8:2.

2S ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

In other words, Rambam holds that after the Resurrection of the Dead, people wi l l still die and inherit their ultimate reward in the World of Souls.88 The other authorities maintain that after death all souls abide in the World of Souls until the Resurrection, at which time they are finally enclothed in a body and in that state are granted their ultimate reward.

It should be noted that this difference of opinion between Rambam and the other authorities was meaningful only in their days, for since the AriZal — whose pronouncements in the esoteric areas of the Torah have been universally accepted — ruled according to the majority opinion, this is to be accepted as the final halachah.89

The majority opinion, however, requires clarification. Surely spiritual rewards would be loftier i f they were awarded to a soul that is detached (as in the World of Souls) from the limitations of a physical body! How could it be that, according to most authorities, the soul's ultimate reward wi l l be in this world?

To rephrase the question: Why a bodily Resurrection? I f the purpose of resurrection is spiritual reward, why reward the soul in a body, and not alone?

One could argue, that since the body plays a role in earning the reward, Divine Providence demands that the body too be rewarded: hence Resurrection. A Talmudic parable90

illustrates this.

A blind man and a lame man both desired to raid a certain orchard — but how? The lame man therefore climbed up on the shoulders of the blind man, and directed him there. When

88. Rambam, Maamar Techiyas HaMeisim ("Discourse on Resurrection"), ch. 4.

89. Igros Kodesh (Letters) of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Vol. I , p. 142, foot¬note 1.

90. Sanhedrin 91b; see also Ritva on Rosh HaShanah 16b.

T H E W D R L D T D C D M E : W H Y A B D D I L Y R E S U R R E C T I D N ? 2B

the owner caught them separately on their way out, each pro¬tested that he could not have stolen alone. The resourceful owner thereupon sat the lame man on the shoulders of the blind man, and administered their punishment together

However, this parable explains only a certain level of reward that is appropriate to the soul as it resides in the body; it does not explain why the ultimate reward must involve the body as well. In other words, the above explanation could also be consonant with the view of Rambam, that Resurrection wi l l be followed by an ultimate reward in the World of Souls. It does not suffice to explain the position of Ramban (Nachmanides) and the other authorities that the ultimate re¬ward wi l l only involve the soul in a body.91

As mentioned above, the Kabbalists9 2 concur with this majority opinion, so we shall look to chassidic philosophy for a solution.

A C H A S S I D I C P E R S P E C T I V E

In general terms, Resurrection may be viewed from two angles: (a) as the perfection of mankind, and (b) as an era of reward for man's efforts in fulfilling the wi l l of the Creator.

In truth these two points blend into one, since man and the entire universe are created in such a way that they climb the ladder of perfection step by step. As man through his own efforts nears perfection, he is helped from above to attain a

91. See Igros Kodesh (Letters) of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Vol. I I , p. 66 (footnote).

92. Zohar I , 114a, and I I I , 216a; Tikkunei Zohar 10b; Tanya, chs. 36, 37. For a full discussion see Derech Mitzvosecha by the Tzemach Tzedek, p. 14b. See also: Shnei Luchos HaBris: Beis David 1:31b; Ramchal, Derech HaShem 1:3:9; Chida, Avodas HaKodesh 2:42-43.


level which transcends his own limitations. To paraphrase the words of the Sages,93 A man sanctifies himself a little below, in this world, and he is granted further sanctity from above, in the World to Come.94

Obviously, a reward is something that is perceived by the recipient as good. Indeed, it may be measured by the recipi¬ent's appreciation of it. For example: A worker may receive his reward in the form of bread and clothes. A student who has served his master may be rewarded by tuition. As a further reward, the master may reveal to him his purpose in creation and the pathway through which he can access this purpose.

Given that the everlasting wealth of spiritual possessions is superior to physical possessions, it is obvious that wisdom is a greater reward than food, and that the greatest of all rewards is to be shown the pathway to eternity. Man's body and soul, how¬ever, are created and therefore finite; moreover, the pleasure they experience and the rewards they can appreciate are like¬wise finite.

Some levels of goodness are within our range of perception and some are beyond. Beyond all other levels, is the level attained when one fulfills the commandments of the Creator, for a mitzvah connects finite man to his infinite Creator. (As explained in ch. 2 above, the root of the word mitzvah implies "connection".) Since there can be no greater good than being connected to the infinite G-d, the very performance of a mitz-vah is in itself the greatest reward attainable. In the words of

93. Yoma 39a. 94. In Kabbalistic syntax, this dynamic comprises three stages: a Divine

initiative ("an arousal from above") elicits a mortal response ("an arousal from below"), and this in turn elicits a further arousal from above.


the Mishnah,95 "The reward of a mitzvah is the mitzvah" — i.e., the mitzvah itself.9 6

The greatest kindness G-d bestowed upon man is that in the Torah He clearly showed the way to self-perfection. Indeed, the very word Torah stems from the word horaah ("teaching"),97 for the Torah, G-d's directive to man, encompasses the entire life of man from his very first moment on.

The perfection of any entity may be gauged against the purpose for which it was originally created. What is the pur¬pose of creation in general and of man in particular?9 8 — "The Holy One, blessed be He, desired to have an abode in the lower worlds."

As mentioned in ch. 2, the self-screening process by which the infinite light of the Divine is attenuated by downward stages until a finite, physical world is created, is termed the Seder Hishtalshelus. The successive links that comprise this chainlike scheme are called "worlds", each of which progres¬sively conceals the Essence of the Divine. The purpose of creation is not the existence of the "higher" worlds (such as the World of Souls) but this world of ours, which, in terms of revelation, is the lowest of a l l . 9 9

95. Avos 4:2. 96. See at length the letter of the Rebbe Rayatz in HaTamim, p. 25. 97. Zohar I I I , 53b; Maharal, Gur Aryeh, beg. of Parshas Bereishis, citing

the Radak. 98. Likkutei Amarim — Tanya, ch. 36, paraphrasing Midrash Tanchuma,

Parshas Naso, sec. 16. 99. The terms "higher" and "lower" must be understood as standards of

comparison that indicate to what degree G-dliness is revealed in each individual world: the more revelation, the "higher" the world; the more obscurity, the "lower". From this standpoint our material world is the very lowest, for here G-dliness is the most heavily veiled. See Lessons In Tanya (Kehot, N.Y.), Vol. I I , ch. 36.


It is specifically in this world of spiritual darkness that G-d wished "to have an abode." This abode is constructed by the observance of the commandments, for a mitzvah is one of the means by which mortal man can connect himself with his Creator. When performing a practical mitzvah, man connects the material entity concerned, and at the same time his own animal soul, to G-d. In the terminology of Chassidus, this is called the revelation of the Ein-Sof (infinite) light in this world. 1 0 0

This involves the transformation of yesh (lit., "there ex¬ists"), i.e., material and corporeal existence, into ayin (lit., "nothingness"). This elective self-nullification in the face of G-d's wi l l allows His infinite light to become manifest in this world. It is thus the foundation of the Torah and its mitzvos, as it is written, 1 0 1 "G-d commanded us to perform all these decrees in order that we stand in awe of [Him] ." 1 0 2 In other words, the Torah and its commandments were given in this world to a soul garbed in a physical body so that the bodily and

100. In fact, the revelation in this world is more intense than the revelation in the higher worlds. The revelation there is only a contracted, con¬cealed emanation of Divinity, whilst the revelation in this world is of the Essence. To explain: It was only the Essence of G-d that could create a material world in which it is possible (G-d forbid) for a cre¬ated mortal to deny the existence of a creator. It is only the Divine soul — "a part of G-d", a "Divine spark" — which when garbed in the body, can refine and elevate the body and the world in which it lives. The same power that created this world, is the only power that can reveal its essence. The fusion of body and soul thus represents two opposites, G-d and the physical world. Through the observance of mitzvos, the soul refines and illuminates the body and the world, and reveals a level of light from the Divine Essence that outshines the light in the "higher" worlds (for this is merely an emanation). The ultimate reward for the soul can therefore be given only in this world.

See Likkutei Torah, Parshas Behar, p. 42; see also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXX, p. 138, note 55, and Vol. X V I , p. 478.

101. Devarim 6:24. 102. See at length in Likkutei Torah, loc. cit.


worldly yesh should be transformed into ayin and thereby become a self-effacing receptacle for the light of Divinity.

Since the revelation of this light in the world is the purpose for which the world was created, it is clear that the intensity of this revelation wi l l depend on the extent to which man elevates the physical world.

H I S T O R Y AS A L A D D E R

Now, just as man matures in his abilities, progressing from easy tasks to the more difficult, so too in his capacity to receive a reward, he first has the ability to perceive a dimmer revelation of spiritual light — for this, as mentioned above, is man's true reward — and thereafter his perceptive capacity grows. (There were times in history when there was a G-dly revelation above and beyond the capacity of that particular time, such as at the Exodus from Egypt and the Giving of the Torah.)

In fact the entire created universe is advancing up the lad¬der of perfection and gradually becoming more refined. In terms of world history, this elevation has three rungs:

1. The present era.

2. The Messianic era.

3. The Resurrection.

In the first era, the period before the advent of Mashiach, the world is preoccupied with a constant battle between the forces of good and evil. Since man has been granted free wi l l he may perhaps decide to do evil, at which point he wi l l fall in spiritual level. He is also granted the capacity to undertake teshuvah, to return and repent, and thereby rectify his sin and be elevated to an even higher level than his previous state.


During the second era, the Messianic era, the battle against evil wi l l have been won, redemption wi l l replace exile, and man wi l l return to the level of perfection that characterized Adam before the sin of the Tree of Knowledge.1 0 3 The sitra achara (lit., "the other side," a Kabbalistic euphemism for evil) wi l l still exist in the world — in the "mixed multitude" 1 0 4

— and this wi l l affect the level of perfection attainable by the Children of Israel. The persistence of evil in the world explains the opinion of those who hold that all those living in the Messi¬anic era wi l l die (even i f momentarily) before Resurrection, in order to be cleansed of this impurity. 1 0 5

The days of Mashiach represent the zenith of what man can achieve by utilizing his own capabilities. At that time the Torah and its commandments wi l l be observed106 universally: "this day — to observe them," wi l l apply not only to our cur¬rent era but the Messianic era as well . 1 0 7

103. Bereishis Rabbah 12:6. See at length in Avodas HaKodesh, Vol. I I , ch. 38.

104. In Heb., the eirev rav. See Tanya — Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 26. 105. See ch. 8 below. 106. See Torah Or, Parshas Vayechi, p. 46a; Toras Shmuel, Shaar Revi'i,

ch. 17. See also Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 9:2, and Hilchos Mela-chim 12:4 and 12:5 — though Rambam (12:2) reiterates his stance that "there is no difference between this world and the Messianic era except for [Israel's liberation from] the subjugation of the nations" (Berachos 34b). Cf. Shabbos 151b.

107. Devarim 7:11; see also Tanya — lggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 26. In contrast, see the comment of Ramban on Devarim 30:6. On the

phrase (Koheles 12:1), "Years of which you shall say, ' I have no pleasure in them,' " the Gemara states (Shabbos 151b), "This refers to the Messianic era, when there wi l l be neither merit nor guilt." Ram-ban understands this to mean that in the Messianic era there wi l l be no free choice; rather, man wil l observe mitzvos naturally and sponta¬neously — and these are the years in which G-d has no pleasure.

This interpretation is difficult to understand in the light of the ex¬planation given in Tanya that the Messianic era wi l l represent the ultimate in the observance of mitzvos.


In the third period, the period of the Resurrection, evil wi l l be utterly eradicated. The world wi l l know neither sin nor death, for 1 0 8 " in time to come G-d Himself wi l l take hold of the Evi l Inclination [and hence the Angel of Death] and slaughter i t . " In this period man wi l l be granted a gift from above — perfection not only commensurate with his abilities but beyond them. There wi l l be no more observance of mitzvos.109 The righteous wi l l sit with crowns on their heads and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence.110

This reward wi l l be granted to the soul garbed in a body, for at that time the original purpose for which the universe was created wi l l have been fulfilled — to create a dwelling place for G-d in the lower worlds. 1 1 1 The developmental process of revelation1 1 2 outlined above, proceeding from exile to the Mes¬sianic era and climaxing in the Resurrection, thus explains the necessity for Resurrection.

Alternatively, Rashi understands the above-quoted Gemara to mean that there wi l l be neither merit nor guilt — since all wi l l be rich. See also the comment of R. Yaakov Emden.

To resolve the matter one may possibly suggest that when Ramban refers here to the Messianic era he means its continuation after the Resurrection. This possibility, however, requires further clarification.

108. Sukkah 52a. 109. See ch. 11 below. 110. Berachos 17a. See also: Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 5:2; Tanya —

Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 17; Likkutei Torah, Parshas Shlach, p. 47c; the Responsa entitled Heishiv Moshe, sec. 1.

111. After the Resurrection, "lower worlds" refers to the revelation of the Essence of G-d in the material world: such a fusion of opposites can be contained only by G-d Himself.

112. The necessity for a developmental process is explained in numerous sources in the literature of Chassidus. See Or HaTorah: Bereishis, p. 700; Nach, p. 36; Shir HaShirim, p. 771; Devarim, p. 858.


MAN'S P E R C E P T I O N O F D I V I N I T Y

Until this point, we have focused on this developmental process from the perspective of the perfection of man and his purpose in creation. Now, borrowing the language of chassidic philosophy,1 1 3 we shall endeavor to explain in further depth the differences between these three stages from the perspective of man's perception and sensation of Divinity.

Speaking of his own experience Iyov (Job) says,114 "From my flesh I perceive G-d," and the Gemara states,115 "Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, pervades the entire world, so too does the soul pervade the entire body."

The life-force with which the soul nourishes the body is of three kinds. In ascending order: (1) the life-force that is appor¬tioned to each of the various organs (e.g., the faculty of intellect in the brain, vision in the eye, and so on); (2) the faculty of wi l l , which is not divided, but pervades the individual comprehensively; (3) the essence of the soul, which transcends the soul-faculties of both the above levels, and which is totally spiritual.

Since the coarseness and corporeality of the body conceal the spiritual nature of the soul, a man cannot actually experi¬ence the essence of the spiritual; he can only feel its existence through the soul-faculties that express themselves in his body.

True to the above-quoted analogy ("Just as the Holy One, blessed be He, pervades the entire world, so too does the soul pervade the entire body"), the Divine life-force in the universe is likewise of three kinds. In ascending order: (1) the level of

113. See: Sefer HaMaamarim 5652, the maamar entitled Ein Aroch Lecha; Sefer HaMaamarim 5675, the maamar entitled Vayeishev Yaakov.

114. Iyov 19:26. 115. Berachos 10a.


memale kol almin (lit., the Divine light which "fills all worlds"), i.e., the Divine Presence that is garbed within the created world and whose radiance is apportioned according to the level of each world; (2) the level of sovev kol almin (lit., the Divine light which "encompasses all worlds"), i.e., that per¬vades all worlds yet remains undivided (corresponding to the faculty of wi l l in the body); (3) the Essence of G-d that utterly transcends the worldly dimension. (The levels of memale kol almin and sovev kol almin subdivide many times over.)

As in the analogy of the body, we creatures of this material world cannot perceive the quality of the G-dly light, even at the level of memale kol almin. It is only through G-d's works (such as the heavenly bodies) that we know of His existence; in the words of the prophet,116 "Raise your eyes heavenward and see Who created these." In the World of Souls — the Garden of Eden in which the physical body does not conceal or interfere — the soul actually experiences the level of memale kol almin. Beyond that, during the Messianic era, when the physicality of the created universe wi l l be refined and the Image of G-d wi l l radiate within man as it did before the sin of Adam, there wi l l be a revelation at the level of sovev kol almin. The ultimate stage wi l l come with the Resurrection, when the Essence of G-d wi l l be revealed.117

The Tzemach Tzedek118 explains further that the light of the Garden of Eden, however sublime, cannot be revealed in physicality, whereas the light of the Essence, being unlimited, can be revealed even in physicality — in the spirit of the Kab-

116. Yeshayahu 40:26. 117. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXIV, p. 56, footnote 85, where the

Rebbe suggests that the Divine revelation at the time of the "dance of the tzaddikim" (Taanis 31a) wi l l take place in the Garden of Eden that wi l l be located in this world after the Resurrection. Cf. Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXIV, p. 66, footnote 76.

118. Derech Mitzvosecha, pp. 28-30; see also Or HaTorah: Bereishis, p. 183, 700; Shmos — Beis, p. 583; Nach, p. 36.


balistic principle that "that which is higher descends lower." This explains why at the time of the Resurrection even Moshe Rabbeinu and the Patriarchs wi l l be obliged to descend from the Garden of Eden for the Resurrection (even though they have been proceeding there from strength to strength for thou¬sands of years) — for the level of Divinity that they perceive in the Garden of Eden, however lofty, is still limited, whereas at the time of the Resurrection the light of the Essence wi l l be revealed.119

SUMMARY

Resurrection thus involves both a perfection in the state of man and a revelation of the Essence of G-d, and both these ideal states fuse in fulfillment of the purpose of creation. Hence the necessity for bodily Resurrection.

A final point: The Alter Rebbe explains1 2 0 that G-d chose the Jewish people not only on account of the exalted nature of the Jewish soul, but rather on account of the material body, which outwardly resembles the bodies of the other nations. By virtue of this choice the body retains an element of eternity, for despite its eventual decomposition, the luz bone (see ch. 9) lasts forever, and from it the body wi l l ultimately be recon-structed.1 2 1

119. Or HaTorah: Bereishis, p. 225b. On the difference between the Garden of Eden and the period of the Resurrection as discussed in the teach¬ings of Chassidus, see: Tanya — Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 17; Torah Or, Parshas Yisro, p. 73b; Likkutei Torah, Parshas Shlach, p. 46d; Derech Mitzvosecha, p. 14b; Or HaTorah — Siddur, p. 350; Sefer Ha-Maamarim 5672, Vol. I I , p. 779; Sefer HaMaamarim — Kuntreisim, Vol. I I , p. 422; Sefer HaMaamarim 5700, p. 44.

120. Tanya, ch. 49; see also Toras Shalom, p. 120. 121. Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V I , p. 84. See at length Appendix 2 below.

3B

C H A P T E R 4

R E I N C A R N A T I O N

" E v e r y soul of Israel nEEds

L t a bE reincarnated1 2 2

many times, in order to fulfill all GI3 commandments of the Torah in thought, speech and action."125

T H E COMMANDMENTS

The above chapter outlined the view of almost all the major authorities that the soul, after ascending from the body to the World of Souls for judgment and reward, wi l l again be brought down into the body at the time of the Resurrection. This chap¬ter deals with the concept of reincarnation.

122. The Heb. noun is gilgul. 123. The AriZal, paraphrased in Tanya — Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistles 7,

29.


The Zohar124 clearly states that a soul may descend to this world more that once. Moreover, the AriZal writes 1 2 3 that every Jew needs to be reincarnated repeatedly, until he has fulfilled all 613 commandments of the Torah at the level of thought, of speech and of action. 1 2 5

S U C C E S S I V E D E S C E N T S

Accordingly, one might ask, i f a particular soul has been reincarnated in a number of bodies, in which body wi l l it be clothed at the time of the Resurrection?126

The AriZal127 explains that each time a soul descends to this world, one of its components is rectified; through succes¬sive descents, the soul as an entirety is rectified. Ultimately, each component of the soul wi l l be resurrected in the body which served as its host.

124. I , 131a; Tikkunei Zohar 40. See also: Tikkunei Zohar 70:132a; R. Chaim Vital, Shaar HaMitzvos; Introduction to Shaar HaGilgulim, sec. 11; Sefer HaBahir, sec. 58 (195).

125. "Excepted are the commandments incumbent only upon a king, be¬cause he discharges the obligation of all Israel, as he is a corporate collective of them al l ." See Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 29, in Lessons In Tanya, Vol. V, and footnotes there.

126. This question is asked by the Zohar itself (I , 131a), and two answers are presented. However, the AriZal quotes (and hence apparently ac¬cepts) only the view of R. Yosei, as quoted above. See Ramaz on the Zohar. See also: Tzlach on Berachos 58b, Maggid Meisharim on Par-shas Mikeitz, p. 15a. The Zohar ( I I , 100a) suggests that the soul wil l be resurrected in the body in which most of its work was accom¬plished; hence, in the most refined body. See HaMelech BiMesibo (Kehot), Second Night of Sukkos, 5723 [1961].

127. Shaar HaGilgulim, Introduction 4; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X V I , p. 517. On the concept of rectification (tikkun), see Tanya — Iggeres Ha-Kodesh, Epistle 7.

R E I N C A R N A T I O N 41

COMPONENTS O F T H E S O U L

The concept of components does not mean that no one per¬son wi l l house an entire soul, for each component comprises within itself all the components of the entire soul, 1 2 8 since all souls emanate from one Source.129 Thus, all souls were origi¬nally contained in the soul of Adam, 1 3 0 and later in the soul of Yaakov Avinu, after which there developed 600,000 souls which further divide into 600,000 sub-souls.

In answer to the original question, then: Even i f a soul has been reincarnated a number of times, each host body wi l l be resurrected.131

128. Supposing, for example, a man excels in observing the mitzvah of lov¬ing G-d and thereby rectifies the appropriate component of his soul.

Upon Resurrection, he wil l also have the ability to contemplate the greatness of G-d and thereby fulfill the mitzvah of "knowing" G-d; likewise, he wil l also be able to fear G-d. However, these soul-powers wil l be present only because he loves G-d and therefore wishes to fulfill His wi l l in all other areas; or, in a deeper sense, because he loves G-d so much, he truly wishes to know His greatness and is fear¬ful of doing anything that might separate him from Him Whom he loves. This concept is encapsulated in the Talmudic comment (Sotah 31a) that Avraham Avinu's fear of G-d, as described in the Torah, stemmed from his love of G-d. (See Likkutei Torah, Parshas Masei, p. 88d.)

129. See Tanya, chs. 2, 32, 37, and Iggeres HaKodesh, ch. 7. It is often stated that the soul of R. Shimon bar Yochai was a spark

of the soul of Moshe Rabbeinu, and Eliyahu HaNavi bore the same soul as did Pinchas, yet all agree that all of these persons wil l be res¬urrected.

130. The Midrash relates that G-d showed Adam all the tzaddikim of future generations who would stem from him, some from his head, some from his hair, and so on (Shmos Rabbah 40:3).

131. The subject of this chapter is resumed in ch. 5 below.

43

C H A P T E R 5

W H O W I L L R I S E ?

"N^h ing can stand in the way |[]f TEpEntancE."15

W H A T O F T H E W I C K E D ?

The Mishnah133 first states that all Israel have a share in the World to Come, but then proceeds to name categories of people who are excluded.

Do the wicked have a share in the World to Come?

After detailing which kinds of transgressors belong to the categories excluded,1 3 4 Rambam concludes: "When does the statement that such an individual does not have a share in the World to Come apply? — When he dies without having repented. However, i f he repents of his wickedness and dies a

132. Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 3:14. 133. Sanhedrin 11:1. 134. Hilchos Teshuvah 3:6-14. (See also Margaliyos HaYam on Sanhedrin

90a.)


penitent,1 3 5 he wi l l be one of those admitted to the World to Come, for nothing can stand in the way of teshuvah. Even i f he denied G-d's existence all his days and repented at the last, he has a share in the World to Come. This is implied by the verse,136 'Peace, peace, to the distant and the near, declares G-d, and I shall heal him.' Any wicked person, sinner or apos¬tate, who repents, whether overtly or in private, is accepted. This is implied by the verse,137 'Return, wayward children.' Even though he is still wayward, as is apparent from the fact that he repents in private and not overtly, his teshuvah is accepted."

W H A T O F T H O S E WHO D O N O T R E P E N T ?

I f so, anyone who repents either privately or publicly before he dies wi l l merit a place in the World to Come. But what of those who do not repent before they die?

The Talmudic, Midrashic and Rabbinic sources make it clear that they too wi l l have a place in the World to Come.

1. In the first place, a righteous son may secure his wicked and undeserving father admission to the World to Come.138

Conversely, we f ind 1 3 9 that King David's prayers granted his

135. In the original, baal teshuvah. This, incidentally, is the only correct usage of the Hebrew term. Strictly speaking, a person who today is loosely called a baal teshuvah should be called (as in Shabbos 68b) a tinok shenishba bein haakum (lit., "a child taken into captivity among the gentiles"): since his ignorance stems from circumstances beyond his control, he is obviously blameless.

136. Yeshayahu 57:19. 137. Yirmeyahu 3:22. 138. Sanhedrin 104a. 139. Sotah 10b.

W H W ם I L L R I S E ? 45

rebellious son Avshalom access to the World to Come.140

Moreover, the intercession of R. Yochanan1 4 1 enabled even Acher 1 4 2 to be admitted the Garden of Eden, though he was neither a relative 1 4 3 nor a student.144

2. The Talmud138 relates that even though Yehoyakim was a wicked king, he was atoned by the disgrace that his body underwent after death. Elsewhere, too, the Sages teach1 4 5 that the indignity of a body after death is a sign of atonement, and this is stated without any mention of prayers offered by rela¬tives or others.

140. From Sanhedrin 104a it is clear that a father cannot help his son in this way, whereas from Sotah 10b it appears that he can. To resolve this apparent contradiction, Tosafos (Sotah 10b) explains that a right¬eous son can help his father even without praying, whereas a father must pray for his wicked son. See also: Reishis Chochmah, the chapter entitled Gidul Banim, and Chanoch LaNaar by the Rebbe Rashab, p. 19.

141. Chagigah 15b. 142. I.e., R. Elisha ben Avuyah. 143. The Lubavitcher Rebbe (in Igros Kodesh, Vol. I , p. 143) explains why

it was specifically R. Yochanan who prayed for Acher, though he had no family connection. The Sages teach (see Chagigah 15a, Tosafos s.v. Shuvu, citing the Yerushalmi, Rus Rabbah 3:13, Koheles Rabbah 7:8, and Yalkut Shimoni there) that the first of the many reasons for which Acher became a sinner was the fact that when his mother was preg¬nant with him, she was overpowered by the smell of meat of an idola¬trous sacrifice, which she then ate. Might this not serve as an alibi for Acher? The Talmud states (Yoma 35b) that i f anyone blames his pov¬erty in this world for his ignorance, the Heavenly Court wi l l cite the example of Hillel , who was extremely poor and yet spent his time in study. So too, the only person whose example could be used to point an accusing finger at Acher was R. Yochanan: his mother also ate such meat before he was born (Yoma 82b), yet he grew up righteous. It was therefore only R. Yochanan who could effectively pray on his behalf.

144. See also Sifri (end of Parshas Shoftim) regarding atonement for those who left Egypt by means of an eglah arufah (see end of Sefer Chassi-dim), but cf. Igros Kodesh (Letters) of the Rebbe, Vol. I , p. 144.

145. Sanhedrin 47a, and Rashi there.


Moreover, the Jerusalem Talmud146 states that even Yera-vam and his company, of whom the Mishnah says that they wi l l not be granted entry to the World to Come, were in fact admit¬ted after their bodies had been consumed by fire many years after their death.1 4 7

3. The following verse speaks of ultimate repentance:148

"For die we must, like water that flows on the ground and that cannot be gathered up again; and G-d favors not a soul, but He devises means that he that is banished be not cast away from Him." Citing the closing phrase of this verse as an assurance (that no one banished from G-d by his sins wi l l remain ban¬ished), R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi writes 1 4 9 that every Jew wil l eventually repent, either in this incarnation or another.

4. The Sages interpret Jeremiah's vision 1 5 0 of two baskets of figs, one very good and one very bad, on the non-literal level of derush, making use of the fact that the same Hebrew word (duda'im) can mean either "baskets" or the fragrant plants called mandrakes. To quote their words:1 5 1 "The good figs allude to the perfectly righteous and the bad ones allude to the completely wicked, but lest you think that the latter may be beyond all hope, observe the verse that states,152 'And the man¬drakes (duda'im) give forth a fragrance.' " The case of the wicked is never hopeless; at some future time, even the basket

146. Kilayim 9:3. 147. As to the citation in the Talmud Bavli (Rosh HaShanah 17a) of Yera-

vam as an example of one who wil l be eternally damned, this could be regarded as describing his spiritual state when alive, without considering the atonement that he was later granted when his body was burned.

148. II Shmuel 14:14. 149. Both in the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch (Hilchos Talmud Torah

4:3) and in Tanya, end of ch. 39. 150. Yirmeyahu, ch. 24. 151. Eruvin 21a. 152. Shir HaShirim 7:14.


of seemingly worthless figs wi l l , like the fragrant mandrake, give forth a sweet fragrance.153

5. The Sages154 teach that even the sinners among Israel are as full of mitzvos as a pomegranate is full of seeds; they, too, wi l l therefore have a share in the World to Come.155

6. The Kabbalistic classic entitled Emek HaMelech writes: 1 5 6 "Now children, listen to me, I wi l l teach you the fear of G-d, and His holy love for us Why does G-d trouble Him¬self with the wicked who anger Him at every possible moment? There are two answers: (1) Even though they are utterly wicked, there are sparks of holiness in them... ; their soul which is a part of G-d is eternal... ; He breathed it into them; (2) the handiwork of G-d lasts forever and can never cease.157 It is this second reason that was the point of the patriarch Abraham's prayer when G-d showed him Gehinom and Exile

153. See also: Rashi on Shir HaShirim 7:14; Shabbos 88b; Tosafos, s.v. Chutz, on Bava Metzia 58b.

154. Chagigah 27a. 155. In a parallel discussion (Eruvin 19a) the Sages comment on Ye-

shayahu 66:24, "And they shall go forth and look upon the carcasses of the men who have rebelled against Me": This alludes to the sinners of the nations, whereas the sinners of Israel wi l l do penance in Gehin-nom, from which Avraham Avinu wil l ultimately free them. The Tal¬mud excludes one who had relations with a gentile woman, but Tosafos (s.v. Chutz, on Bava Metzia 58b) explains that even this sinner leaves Gehinnom after twelve months. However, Tosafos (s.v Posh'ei, on Chagigah 27a) excludes certain sinners, and see also Tosafos on Rosh HaShanah 17a.

156. Shaar Tikkunei Teshuvah, end of ch. 3. 157. In the original text, the author cites two phrases from Yeshayahu

60:21: "[The Jewish people are] the branch of My planting, the work of My hands...." The first of the above two answers is based on the for¬mer phrase, which likens the soul to a branch of G-d, and the second answer is based on the latter phrase, which affirms that the work of G-d's hands is eternal.


through which all the wicked would be corrected, for He has mercy on all His creatures."158

This passage suggests that since the souls of the wicked are "part" of G-d, it is inconceivable that they wi l l not eventually return to Him. It is through the troubles of the exile that this wi l l be achieved. As Rambam points out, 1 5 9 based on the opinion of R. Yehoshua,160 the Torah has promised that at the end of their exile Israel wi l l repent.

7. Both Midrash Shmuel161 and the Alshech162 write explic¬itly that the A-mighty troubles Himself with correcting the wicked so that they too wi l l eventually merit a share in the World to Come.

W H O HAS N O P L A C E IN T H E W O R L D T O C O M E ?

Some path, somewhere, is thus always left open for the footsteps of the wicked who seek atonement. At the end of time, moreover, all the wicked wi l l in fact be granted a share in the World to Come.

What, then, is meant by the mishnah which declares that there are those who have no place in the World to Come?

A close scrutiny of its wording reveals its true intent:1 6 3

" A l l Israel have a share in the World to Come, as it is said, 1 6 4

'Your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land for-

158. Similarly, see there in Shaar Olam HaTohu, ch. 31, and in Shaar Ava, at the end of ch. 46.

159. Hilchos Teshuvah 7:5. 160. Sanhedrin 97b. 161. Beginning of Pirkei Avos. 162. On Parshas Shemini. 163. Sanhedrin 11:1. 164. Yeshayahu 60:21.

W H W ם I L L R I S E ? 4B

ever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in whom I take pride.' And these have no share in the World to Come:..." — and those categories of people are enumerated in the passages that follow. Now surely one would have expected the mishnah to read, " A l l Israel have a share in the World to Come... except..."165 The mishnah, however, does not use this word, which would present its two stances as outright opposites. How, then, can it enumerate categories of people who have no share in the World to Come i f all Israel do have a share in it?

By way of a solution: The World to Come as mentioned in the mishnah refers (as discussed above) to the Resurrection, viz., the return of the soul into a resurrected body. When the mishnah says that all Israel have a share in the World to Come, it refers to the soul: all souls wi l l eventually be resurrected, even the souls of the wicked, but not all bodies wi l l necessarily be resurrected. As stated above, all souls are repeatedly reincarnated until they have fulfilled all the commandments. I f a person was wicked in one incarnation, that body wi l l not be resurrected; instead, his soul wi l l be resurrected in a body that dates from one of its other incarnations.166

165. Igros Kodesh (Letters) of the Rebbe, Vol. I , p. 149, footnote 7. The entire thrust of the present chapter rests heavily on this com¬

prehensive and closely-documented letter (beginning on p. 141), which the Rebbe wrote in 5703 [1943] in response to the query of a private individual.

166. As explained in the above-quoted source, the mishnah is to be under¬stood as follows: " A l l Israel have a share in the World to Come..." — this refers to the souls; "and these have no share..." — this refers to those bodies that wi l l not merit the Resurrection. Since the two parts of the mishnah thus speak of two diverse subjects, it is obvious that it would be inappropriate to say "except."

Suppose it were to be argued that the mishnah says "and these" and not "except" because, after having interpolated a prooftext from Yeshayahu, it was obliged to resume its theme by reiterating a phrase that recalls its opening statement. The reply: Parallel cases in the


The above explanation, which builds on the writings of the AriZal,167 is based on the premise that the soul is cleansed

opening mishnah of Zevachim and of Menachos (and see also Yevamos 2:5) likewise interpolate explanatory matter between a general prin¬ciple and its exceptions, but still revert to the exception with "except".

Alternatively, it might be argued that the mishnah finds it appro¬priate to introduce its lengthy list (of those who do not have a share in the World to Come) not simply and briefly with "except", but with a more portentous phrase. The reply: In a parallel case at the very beginning of Tractate Chagigah (and likewise in the above-mentioned citations from Zevachim and Menachos), the word "except" is never¬theless used.

It is thus clear that the expression "and these [have no share in the World to Come]" is used advisedly because — unlike "except" — it does not connote utter exclusion. Since it expresses a more temperate reservation, it allows us to understand that in each of the cases enu¬merated only the body wil l not return, whereas the soul wi l l be resur¬rected, since all Israel have a share in the World to Come.

167. Shaar HaGilgulim, Introduction 11, and Sefer HaGilgulim, ch. 5. Other contradictions, too, may be resolved by this explanation. For

example: The Talmud (in Sanhedrin 107b) states that the generation that built the Tower of Babel (and was thereafter dispersed throughout the world) have no share in the World to Come. As pointed out by the Rebbe Maharash (in Toras Shmuel, Shaar 6, ch. 14, and also in the derush on Parshas Tzav, 5639), this would appear to contradict the statement in Pri Etz Chaim (Shaar Chag HaMatzos, ch. 1 ) that the Jews in Egypt were a reincarnation of that generation. Perceived from the above perspective, the seeming contradiction disappears: The bodies of that generation wil l indeed not be resurrected; their souls, however, were refined and elevated in Egypt.

The same perspective can resolve another apparent anomaly: R. Akiva (Sanhedrin 11:3) teaches that the generation that wandered in the Wilderness wi l l have no place in the World to Come, whereas the writings of the AriZal (Shaar HaLikkutim, Shmos 3:4; Shaar HaGil-gulim, Introduction 20) state that the generation of the Wilderness wil l be reincarnated in the generation before Mashiach comes. (In Sefer Asarah Maamaros, Maamar Chikur Din 2:8, the view of R. Akiva is explained differently.)

The same distinction between the sometimes separate destinies of soul and body is to be found in the commentary of Mikdash Melech on the Zohar ( I I I , 276a) that explains the statement of the above-quoted


through the process of reincarnation even more than through Gehinnom.168

K A R E S : T H E PUNISHMENT O F E X C I S I O N

The plain meaning of this punishment, which the Torah reserves for a limited number of serious offenses (including breaking the fast of Yom Kippur), is that the soul is cut off. This is further implied by a statement of the Sages169 regarding excision both in this world 1 7 0 and the next.

Rambam defines it as follows:1 7 1 "The reward of the right¬eous is that they wi l l merit this bliss [i.e., the World to Come] and take part in this good. The retribution of the wicked is that they wi l l not merit this life, but wi l l be cut off and wi l l die. Whoever does not merit this life is truly dead and wi l l not live forever, but wi l l be cut off in his wickedness and perish like a beast. This is the kares of which the Torah writes, 1 7 2 'That soul

mishnah in Sanhedrin (11:3) that the Spies have no share in the World to Come: though their bodies wi l l not be resurrected, their souls wi l l be. (This resolution also solves the problem raised by Nitzutzei Oros on the Zohar there.)

The teaching of the Jerusalem Talmud (Kilayim 9:3) on Yerovam, that was mentioned early in this chapter, may also be interpreted in this light.

See also Igros Kodesh (Letters) of the Rebbe, Vol. I , p. 149, foot¬note 8.

168. Reishis Chochmah, Shaar HaYirah, end of ch. 3, in the name of the Ramak; see also Shiur Komah, ch. 84. See also ch. 4 above.

169. Sanhedrin 64b, reflected in the quotation from Rambam below. 170. In former times, a person punishable by kares would die before

reaching the age of fifty (Moed Katan 28a, and see Tosafos there). In Tanya — Iggeres HaTeshuvah, ch. 5ff., the Alter Rebbe defines the Kabbalistic sense of kares and explains why this is not evident today.

171. Hilchos Teshuvah 8:1. 172. Bamidbar 15:31.


shall surely be cut off.' [Considering the dual form of the verb, hikares tikares,] the oral tradition explains: hikares means that the soul wi l l be cut off in this world; tikares means that it wi l l be cut off in the World to Come. [Such] a soul that is separated from the body in this world does not merit the life of the World to Come. Rather, even in the World to Come it is cut off

"The 1 7 3 retribution beyond which there is no greater retri¬bution is that the soul wi l l be cut off and not merit this life; as it is written, 1 7 2 'That soul shall surely be cut off: his sin shall remain upon him.' This is the obliteration of the soul which the prophets referred to metaphorically as174 'the pit of destruction,' or 1 7 5 'obliteration'.... A l l the synonyms for annihilation and destruction are used to refer to it, for it is the ultimate annihi¬lation after which there is no renewal and the ultimate extinc¬tion that can never be undone."

There were many who misinterpreted these statements of Rambam as implying that a sinning soul would not undergo punishment in Gehinnom, which is a state of purgatory in the World of Souls. In fact this was one of the reasons for the pro¬posed banning of this work. 1 7 6 In its defense, however, Ramban (Nachmanides) cited proofs that Rambam also believed in the existence of other punishments, though he saw excision as the ultimate and final punishment.

At the same time, a concept that left Ramban unconvinced was the ultimate obliteration of a wicked soul. As he writes, it is inconceivable that a sublime soul which is in fact a "spark of G-d" should ever become extinct. 1 7 7

173. Hilchos Teshuvah 8:5. 174. Tehillim 55:24. 175. Ibid. 88:12. 176. See the commentary of Rambam LaAm on Hilchos Teshuvah, p. 248. 177. For Ramban in Shaar HaGemul — quoted somewhat differently in the

Mefaresh on the Rambam — excision means that the Divine soul naturally wishes to return to its true source. However, since the

W H ם W I L L R I S E ? 53

M O D E S O F R E T R I B U T I O N

The Kabbalists offer an explanation which is something of a compromise. It is well known that the soul comprises (in ascending order) five levels:1 7 8 Nefesh, Ruach, Neshamah, Chayah, Yechidah — and only the level of Nefesh can be affected by excision.1 7 9

As an alternative solution: One of the sources for the con¬cept of everlasting retribution for the worst of the wicked is the Talmudic statement180 that certain non-believers, informers and others "wi l l descend to Gehinnom and be prosecuted for end¬less generations... ; Gehinnom w i l l eventually come to an end but [their punishment] shall not." According to the simple and classical interpretation of this teaching, though Gehinnom is only a means of correction for the soul, and at some future time it wi l l no longer be needed, these sinners wi l l nevertheless continue to suffer.

The respective authors of Asarah Maamaros181 and Emek HaMelech182 interpret otherwise: Gehinnom, which is a negative force, wi l l come to an end, and these souls wi l l eventually be reaccepted and purified.

coarseness of its experience in the body prevents it from doing so, in that sense it is cut off. What remains problematic is the Ramban's forecast of everlasting judgment for the absolutely wicked and the non-believers, based on the statement of the Sages (Rosh HaShanah 17a) that "they wil l descend to Gehinnom and be prosecuted for endless generations... ; Gehinnom wi l l eventually come to an end but [their punishment] shall not."

178. Bereishis Rabbah 14:9; Devarim Rabbah 2:9. 179. Likkutei Torah by the AriZal, Parshas Bo; Sefer HaLikkutim, Parshas

Lech Lecha; Sefer HaGilgulim, ch. 6. 180. Rosh HaShanah 17a. 181. Maamar Chikur Din 5:1. 182. Shaar Tikkunei HaTeshuvah, sec. 3; see also Shaar Kiryas Arba, sec.

152.


Combining the above explanation with the Kabbalistic view, it could be said that those in the most extreme of the above categories wi l l be subjected to a long period of excision and wi l l undergo the cleansing of Gehinnom, but when the time comes and Gehinnom has completed its mission in the uni-verse,183 they too wi l l have been rectified and rehabilitated.

It is also in this light that the commentaries explain the teaching of the Sages,180 that those who sin bodily "descend to Gehinnom where they are prosecuted for twelve months, after which their body ceases to exist and their soul is burned, and the wind scatters them under the feet of the righteous." Here, too, a superficial glance might well give the impression that the souls of the wicked wi l l be destroyed. However, the above commentaries184 explain that these souls wi l l undergo a change of form: just as something burned returns to ashes, so too wi l l the souls of the wicked be reformed — except that their standing wi l l be far inferior to that of the righteous.

183. At first glance, the suggestion that Gehinnom wi l l come to an end would appear to contradict the Talmudic teaching (Pesachim 54a), that "the light that G-d created on the second day of Creation [Rashi: 'i.e., the light of Gehinnom'] wi l l not be extinguished forever." How¬ever, it is pointed out in Asarah Maamaros, Maamar Chikur Din 5:5, and in Emek HaMelech, Shaar Shaashuei HaMelech, ch. 1, that when the Talmud uses the expression olamis ("forever"), it does not mean "for eternity," but for the entire duration of this world (olam — li t . , "world"). When, however, we move into the era of the World to Come, i.e., when G-d wil l remove all evil and the tranquillity of Shabbos wil l reign, then Gehinnom wi l l also cease to exist.

184. See Ramban, Shaar HaGemul; Asarah Maamaros, Maamar Chikur Din 5:7; Emek HaMelech, Shaar Ava, ch. 46.


T H E R E S U R R E C T I O N O F R I G H T E O U S G E N T I L E S

The Midrash185 states clearly that the Resurrection applies to Israel, while the commentary entitled Yfei Toar explains that it includes righteous gentiles as well. The Zohar186 implies that the idolatrous nations of the world wi l l not be resurrected.187

O V E R P O P U L A T I O N

R. Saadiah Gaon1 8 8 makes a calculation 1 8 9 that when the time comes the world wi l l be extensive enough to accommodate all those resurrected. R. Yaakov Emden 1 9 0 dismisses this calculation: just as the Resurrection wi l l be miraculous, so, too, at that time the earth wi l l miraculously cope with all its

185. Bereishis Rabbah 13:6. 186. I , 181b. 187. See also Rabbeinu Bachye, Parshas Noach 6:12, 11:10. Abarbanel,

however, in Maayanei HaYeshuah, p. 11a, writes that Resurrection wil l apply to all of mankind. He notes two purposes in this: (1) It would be unfair to all the generations who hoped for the coming of Mashiach i f only those who had the good fortune to be alive at that time would be privileged to enjoy the benefits of the Redemption. Therefore all the dead wil l be resurrected — the righteous to enjoy the benefits they merited, and the enemies of Israel in order to witness their own ultimate downfall. (2) The nations then to be resurrected wil l realize the folly of their beliefs and wil l acknowledge G-d's sover¬eignty, in the spirit of the prophecy that appears (for example) in Zephaniah 3:9: "For I shall then make the nations pure of speech, so that they wil l all call upon the Name of G-d and serve Him with one purpose."

Other authorities, however, hold that only the righteous wi l l merit resurrection; see: R. Saadiah Gaon, Emunos VeDeos, ch. 7; Rambam, Peirush HaMishnayos, Sanhedrin, ch. 10; Ramban, Shaar HaGemul, sec. 11.

188. Emunos VeDeos, Maamar 7:8. 189. Explained by Mabit in Beis Elokim, Shaar HaYesodos, ch. 59. 190. In his commentary on the Siddur, in the Maamados for Friday.


inhabitants. In this spirit the Talmud often speaks of situations (such as in the courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash191) in which G-d's transcendence of space so completely permeated the physical universe, that a limited area miraculously held many people. The Midrash teaches even more specifically:1 9 2 "When G-d told Moshe Rabbeinu to convene the Jewish people at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, Moshe complained, 'A-mighty G-d: How can I possibly stand 600,000 men and 600,000 youths at the entrance to the Tent which is a plot of land that is only big enough to yield two seah of grain?' And G-d replied: '...So, too, in time to come, wi l l I do the same in Zion: A l l the world's population from Adam until the Resurrection wi l l come and complain about the shortage of space, and I wi l l broaden it for them.' "

As to feeding such a population, the Midrash writes: 1 9 3 "He who brings the people wi l l provide for them." 1 9 4

SUMMARY

After undergoing various forms of rectification, including even reincarnation followed by cleansing in Gehinnom,195 all Jewish souls — including the souls of the wicked — wil l eventually be resurrected, though not all bodies. The principle that "all Israel have a portion in the World to Come" thus refers to the souls. The teachings of the Sages regarding those individuals who wi l l not rise at the Resurrection refer to the

191. Avos 5:5. 192. Tanchuma, Parshas Tzav, sec. 12. 193. Koheles Rabbah 5:10. See also at length in Emunas HaTechiyah, ch.

6. 194. Ch. 10 below cites the view that there wil l be no eating — for nutri¬

tional purposes — after the Resurrection. 195. Emek HaMelech, Shaar Tikkunei Teshuvah, ch. 1.


bodies of the wicked, whose souls wi l l be resurrected in differ¬ent bodies.1 9 6

As to the delicate question of who are the wicked, we can do no better than conclude our chapter with the same quota-tion 1 9 7 with which the Rebbe chose to conclude his classic responsum on this subject:198 "Blessed be G-d — the G-d of Abraham, the epitome of kindness — Who has not removed His kindness from His people Israel. None shall be left forlorn, for His mercy has no end, and 1 9 9 'all Israel have a share in the World to Come'; as it is written, 2 0 0 'Your people are all right¬eous; they shall inherit the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in whom I take price.' "

196. Midrash Talpios (Anaf Chelek LeOlam HaBa) cites a different inter¬pretation in the name of Rabbeinu Bachye and Recanati: The state¬ment of the mishnah, "And these have no share in the World to Come," means that these individuals have no recognizable share of their own, but they do benefit from the "storehouses of charity" that are reserved for those who did not merit a share in the World to Come.

In his Igros Kodesh (Letters), Vol. I , p. 150, the Rebbe explains the teaching of the Gemara (Taanis 7a) that "Resurrection is only for the righteous."

197. From Emek HaMelech, Shaar Reisha DeZa, end of ch. 48. 198. Igros Kodesh (Letters) of the Rebbe, Vol. I , p. 153. 199. Sanhedrin 11:1. 200. Yeshayahu 60:21.

5B

C H A P T E R G

W H E N W I L L T H E

R E S U R R E C T I D N T A K E P L A C E ?

" P - d builds JErusalEm, H E

U gathers together the

outcasts af Israel."™

T H E S E Q U E N C E O F E V E N T S

Describing the advent of Mashiach, Rambam writes: 2 0 2 " I f a king wi l l arise from the House of David who, like David his

201. Tehillim 147:2. 202. Hilchos Melachim 11:4. Considering the elaborate length of his Dis¬

course on the Resurrection, it is interesting to note that Rambam does not even mention this subject in his Mishneh Torah. A number of commentaries explain this by observing that the function of this work is to codify applicable Halachah; it does not discuss future events outside this context. Hence it does discuss the coming of Eliyahu Ha-Navi and Mashiach, for these have applicable halachic ramifications, as is documented in the commentaries.

BD ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

ancestor, delves deeply into the study of the Torah and observes its mitzvos as prescribed by the Written law and the Oral law; i f he wi l l compel all of Israel to walk in [the way of the Torah] and repair the breaches [in its observance]; and if he wi l l fight the wars of G-d; — we may, with assurance, con¬sider him Mashiach. I f he succeeds in the above, builds the [Beis Ha]Mikdash on its site, and gathers in the dispersed rem¬nant of Israel, he is definitely the Mashiach."

We see from this ruling that Rambam holds that the Ingathering of the Exiles wi l l follow the building of the Third Temple. This view is based on the verse,203 "G-d builds Jerusa¬lem, He gathers together the outcasts of Israel," and is sup¬ported by numerous Talmudic and Midrashic sources.204

Continuing this theme, the Zohar205 quotes the verse in Tehillim that follows the above verse,206 "He heals the broken¬hearted and binds up their wounds," and writes that the Resur¬rection wi l l take place forty years207 after the Ingathering of the Exiles.

The order of events wi l l thus be as follows:

1. The arrival of Mashiach.

203. Tehillim 147:2. 204. Berachos 49a; Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Noach, sec. 11 (and see

the commentary of Etz Yosef there). For full documentation, see Igros Kodesh (Letters) of R. Sholom Ber Schneersohn of Lubavitch (the Rebbe Rashab), Vol. I , p. 309.

205. I , 139a; see also p. 134a. 206. Tehillim 147:3. 207. The Zohar draws a mystical analogy between this interval of 40 years

and the 40 years of Yitzchak's age at marriage and the 40 years' so¬journ in the wilderness. According to Sanhedrin 99a likewise, the Messianic era wi l l last for 40 years. Commenting on this passage, Chiddushei HaRan cites the view that the Resurrection wil l take place 40 years after the arrival of Mashiach, and also cites variant opinions of 70 and 400 years.

W H E N W I L L T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N T A K E P L A C E ? Bl

2. The rebuilding 2 0 8 of the Beis HaMikdash.

3. The Ingathering of the Exiles.

4. Forty years later,2 0 9 the Resurrection.2 1 0

208. According to many sources, it appears that G-d Himself wi l l build the Third Beis HaMikdash (rather than Mashiach, as in the passage from Rambam which opened this chapter). It has been suggested, therefore, that the actual edifice wi l l be restored by G-d, but its gates wil l be restored by Mashiach. For a full discussion of this point, see Chid-dushim UBiurim of the Lubavitcher Rebbe on Hilchos Beis Ha-Bechirah, sec. 19; and in English, Seek Out the Welfare of Jerusalem (by R. Eliyahu Touger; Sichos In English, N.Y., 1994), p. 145ff.

209. Cf. Tzror HaMor on Shir HaShirim 8:12, citing Ramban. 210. Rambam's apparent conception of two distinct periods within the

Messianic era — an initial period conducted according to the natural order followed by a supernatural state of being — is discussed in Lik-kutei Sichos, Vol. XIV, p. 417. (See also footnote 56 there regarding the view of Ramban.) This discussion appears in English in I Await His Coming Every Day (Kehot, N.Y., 1991), p. 51ff.

The Rebbe often quotes the Zohar to the effect that the Resurrec¬tion wi l l take place 40 years after the advent of Mashiach. (See Igros Kodesh, Vol. I I , p. 75; Sefer HaSichos 5752, Vol. I , p. 274. However, there are also other references in the sichos (e.g., Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X X V I I , p. 206; Sefer HaSichos 5733, Shabbos Parshas Balak, footnote 3) — that i f Israel merits it, Resurrection wil l take place earlier. (See Yeshuos Meshicho by Abarbanel, Iyun 1, ch. 3; Maayanei HaYeshuah, Tamar 2, Maayan 1; Netzach Yisrael by the Maharal, ch. 45.) The fact that Rambam does not mention the Resurrection in Mishneh Torah (see footnote 202 above) also suggests that in his opinion the Resur¬rection wil l take place at some time after the Ingathering of the Exiles.

However, there are opinions that the Resurrection wil l take place before the advent of Mashiach. (See the commentary of Yfei Anaf on Midrash Eichah 1:51; Likkutei Sichos, Parshas Vayechi 5751, footnote 6, quoted also in Shaarei Geulah, Vol. I I , p. 57; Taamei HaMinhagim, p. 470; Maasei Tuvia (by R. Tuvia the Physician); Olam HaElyon, end of sec. 47.) The Halachah, however, does not follow this opinion, since where there is a difference of opinion in the Talmud, the Zohar de¬cides the Halachah (see Sefer HaMaamarim 5709, p. 184; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X X I I I , p. 102) and in this case the Zohar is clear in that Resurrection wi l l follow the advent of Mashiach by 40 years.

B2 ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

According to one view, the Resurrection wi l l take place in the month of Nissan.2 1 1

E A R L Y R E S U R R E C T I O N

There is an opinion that certain righteous individuals wi l l be resurrected at the outset with the arrival of Mashiach.212 As a reward for their lifelong divine service, they wi l l thus be privileged to participate in the universal rejoicing that wi l l accompany his arrival, and to witness the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash.

Similarly, there is an opinion that Moshe Rabbeinu and Aharon and his sons wi l l be resurrected before Mashiach comes, so that they wi l l be able to instruct the people as they did at the time of the Exodus.213

211. Tur, Orach Chaim, sec. 490, quotes Rav Hai Gaon in the name of the Talmudic Sages; see the Alter Rebbe's Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chaim 490:16. According to Rav Hai Gaon, the Resurrection wil l take place before the rebuilding of the Beis HaMikdash. (See Otzar HaMidrashim, Vol. I I , p. 388.)

212. See Zohar I , 140a; Chiddushei Ritva on Rosh HaShanah 16b; Re-sponsa of Radvaz, Vol. I I I , sections 1069, 644; Migdal David, p. 83a; Biurei HaZohar of the Tzemach Tzedek, p. 134. See also Sichos Kodesh 5710 (Kehot), p. 100, and Likkutei Sichos, Vol. I I , p. 518.

Even according to this opinion the Resurrection of the righteous wil l take place in the Land of Israel, and those buried in the Diaspora wil l be conveyed there by means of underground conduits (cf. ch. 7 below). See at length in Emunas HaTechiyah, ch. 5. In Sichos Kodesh 5714, Yud Shvat, the Rebbe speaks of how the Ohel partakes of the holiness of Eretz Yisrael since it wi l l be connected with these conduits.

213. See Aruch LaNer on Niddah 61b; Tosafos on Pesachim 114b; Yoma 5b; Ikkarim 4:35. Midrash Rabbah, at the end of Parshas Eikev, states that Moshe Rabbeinu wil l come together with Eliyahu HaNavi (the Prophet Elijah). Elsewhere, in Parshas Vaes'chanan 2:10, the Midrash states that Moshe was buried in the desert together with his people so that upon Resurrection he wil l lead them all to the Land. Combining these two Midrashim, it would seem that Moshe together with his

W H E N W I L L T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N T A K E P L A C E ? B3

A related question: Can Mashiach himself be resurrected from the dead or does he have to be a man now alive?

Rambam214 describes the revelation of Mashiach as a grad¬ual process in the course of which a righteous and learned leader of his generation wi l l fight the wars of G-d, become a potential Mashiach, and then go on to build the Beis HaMik-dash and gather in the exiles.

However, there are indications that Mashiach could possi¬bly be a righteous individual who has already lived and died and wi l l then be resurrected as Mashiach.215 Discussing the personality of Mashiach, the Sages state:216 " I f he is one of the living, then an example would be Rabbeinu HaKadosh [i.e., R. Yehudah HaNasi]; i f he is someone from among the dead, then he is someone like Daniel." 2 1 7 Abarbanel, in his authoritative classic entitled Yeshuos Meshicho,218 clearly raises the possi¬bility that Mashiach may be among those resurrected. He cites a passage from Tractate Derech Eretz Zuta: "Nine people entered the Garden of Eden alive ...Mashiach." He explains that according to this view, a righteous individual deemed to

whole generation wil l be resurrected and wil l appear with Eliyahu upon the arrival of Mashiach. (This opinion is cited in the Responsa entitled Lev Chaim, Vol. I , p. 32.) In Hilchos Melachim 12:2, Rambam notes that there is no uniform view as to exactly when in the Messianic process Eliyahu wil l arrive.

214. Hilchos Melachim 11:4. 215. On this sequence as described by Rambam, see the handwritten gloss

added by the Rebbe to the printed draft of a sichah delivered on Shab-bos Parshas Tazria-Metzora, 6 Iyar, 5751 [1991], footnote 45. It is re¬produced in Kuntreis Tzaddik LaMelech, Vol. V I , p. 210.

216. Sanhedrin 98b. 217. Note Rashi's two explanations of this passage, and the comment of Ben

Yehoyada. See also Midrash Eichah Rabbah 1:51 — " I f Mashiach is among the living his name is David; i f he is among the dead his name is David" — and the comment of Yfei Anaf there. See also: Shaarei Geulah, Vol. I I , p. 57, footnote 6; article entitled "Everlasting Life" by Rabbi N. Davidson, in Beis Moshiach, No. 49, p. 34.

218. P. 104.


be the Mashiach w i l l live, then die on account of the sins of his generation, but wi l l eventually be resurrected. In his encyclo¬pedic work entitled Sdei Chemed,219 R. Chizkiyah Medini states that if Israel is exceedingly meritorious, Mashiach w i l l be res¬urrected from the dead in a miraculous manner.

219. Pe'as HaSadeh, Maareches Alef, footnote 70. See also Or HaChaim, Parshas Balak, on the verse (Bamidbar 24:17), "A star shall shoot forth from Yaakov": " I f Israel are found worthy, Mashiach wi l l be revealed from heaven." See also: Zohar I , 203b; Arba Meios Shekel Kessef (by R. Chaim Vital), p. 68; Shaar HaGilgulim, ch. 13; Meorei Tzion, ch. 97; Biurei Zohar by the Alter Rebbe, p. 106b; Biurei Zohar by the Tzemach Tzedek and Yahel Or of the Tzemach Tzedek on Tehil-lim 82; Or HaChamah on Zohar I , 7b, and I , 212a. Note the closing phrase ("and he wi l l redeem us") of the first maamar of the Rebbe (entitled Basi LeGani 5711 [1951]), translated by Sichos In English in Basi LeGani: Chassidic Discourses (Kehot, N.Y., 1990), p. 103.

B5

C H A P T E R 7

W H E R E W I L L T H E


" I shall bestow glory upon the land of l i fe>

D I G E S T O F A D E B A T E

Both those buried in the Land of Israel and those buried in the Diaspora wi l l be resurrected in the Land of Israel. Why should this be necessarily so?

The Gemara records a classic exchange on this subject, conducted entirely on the non-literal level of Biblical interpre¬tation known as derush.

It opens with the following declaration by R. Eleazar:221

"The dead of the Diaspora wi l l not be resurrected, for it is

220. Yechezkel 26:20. 221. Kesubbos 111a.

BG ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

written, 2 2 ' — ונתתי צבי בארץ חיים 2 I shall bestow glory upon the land of life.' [This implies that] the dead of the land which houses [G-d's] glory shall be resurrected; the dead of a land which does not house [G-d's] glory shall not be resurrected."

To this R. Abba bar Mamal objects: " I t is also written, 2 2 3

The dead men of your people shall' — יחיו מתיך, נבלתי יקומוןlive; my dead body shall arise.' Does not 'the dead men of your people' refer to the dead of the Land of Israel, and 'my dead body' refer to the dead of the Diaspora?"

After noting the reactions of these two Sages to other verses that their colleagues then cite in support of either stance, the Gemara asks: Is it not unthinkable to suggest (as does R. Eleazar) that the righteous buried in the Diaspora wi l l not be resurrected?

R. Ilaa answers this by saying that they wi l l be resurrected "through gilgul"; i.e., their bodies wi l l be (lit.) rolled through the ground.2 2 4

The question is then asked, "But is this not painful for the righteous?"

To this Abbaye answers: "Subterranean channels (mechilos) wi l l be made for them." 2 2 5

222. Yechezkel 26:20, and see the Targum and commentaries there. 223. Yeshayahu 26:19, and see the Targum and commentaries there. 224. The Zohar ( I , 128b) asks: "Who wil l take the bodies to the Land of

Israel? — R. Yitzchak said, '[The angel] Gavriel wi l l take them.'" 225. In the original Heb., mechilos.

The Rebbe points out that since the ground in which a tzaddik is buried wil l eventually be connected to the Land of Israel by channels, according to halachic criteria (set out in Sefer HaSichos 5714, Yud Shvat) it may even now be considered part of the Land. An awareness of this enables one to better appreciate the value of praying at the resting place of a tzaddik. See also Kuntres HaHishtatchus, Maamarei Admur HaEmtzaei Kuntreisim (translated by Sichos In English, 5755).

W H E R E W I L L T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N T A K E P L A C E ? B7

This, however, raises a question: I f the righteous dead of the Diaspora wi l l be included in the Resurrection, why did Yaakov and Yosef wish to be buried in the Land of Israel?2 2 6

The answer is given, that they were not sure that they would be found worthy of being brought there through the subterranean channels.227

226. Bereishis 47:29-30; 50:24-25. 227. This answer is problematic, for i f this is the reason, then all the right¬

eous men of all the generations should have expressly asked to be buried in the Land of Israel. Were they all so certain that they would be found worthy of being brought there by means of the channels?

The author of Noda BiYehudah (Mahadura Tinyana, Yoreh Deah, sec. 206) was once challenged with this question with regard to the baalei haTosafos. He replied that perhaps it was not within their power to request that they be transported to the Land of Israel after their passing. Since, however, they were perfectly righteous, they would no doubt be preserved and would be found worthy of being brought to the Land in the way described.

The same author then proceeds to quote an alternative solution offered by his son. According to the opinion of Tosafos in Kesubbos 110a, there is no obligation in the present era (when there is no Beis HaMikdash standing) to migrate and live in the Land of Israel, since it is not yet possible to fully maintain the holiness of the Land and ob¬serve all of its distinctive mitzvos. For this reason, he argues, the baalei haTosafos did not want to be buried there.

This answer is difficult to understand, for the merit of being buried in the Land of Israel is independent of one's ability to observe its mitzvos during one's lifetime, as we clearly see from the requests of Yaakov and Yosef.

(By way of resolution: Perhaps this answer means that the baalei haTosafos did not choose to emigrate to the Land of Israel in their lifetimes because in our era one cannot fully observe its mitzvos.)

On the value of burial in the Land of Israel, see also the teaching of R. Anan in Kesubbos 111a: " I f anyone is buried in the Eretz Yisrael, it is as i f he were buried under the very altar." One of the prooftexts quoted is the verse (Devarim 32:43), וכפר אדמתו עמו. Paraphrased in the spirit of the above-quoted Gemara, this means, "His Land wil l atone for His people." The same verse is cited by R. Eliezer in Berei-shis Rabbah, sec. 96, in defense of an individual who lived his life in the Diaspora, but sought to be buried in the Holy Land: "Once he is buried in Eretz Yisrael, G-d wil l grant him atonement." And since

BS ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

ANALYSIS

Which of these two positions does the Halachah define as authoritative?

The author of Nodah BiYehudah228 rules (though without citing proof) according to the view of R. Abba, that those bur¬ied in the Diaspora wi l l also merit Resurrection. However, since the discussion of the Talmud is based on the statement of R. Eleazar, and is supported by many of his colleagues, then according to the principles by which the Halachah is derived from the Talmud,229 the Halachah is established according to his view. And indeed, this ruling is backed by sources in the Jerusalem Talmud,230 the Midrash,231 and numerous statements in the Zohar.232

actual burial in the soil of the Holy Land is not always feasible, mem¬bers of burial brotherhoods in the Diaspora are accustomed to place a little soil from the Holy Land in the coffin of the departed. On the sources and significance of this practice, and in particular its connec¬tion with the aspiration of the departed to be ultimately resurrected, see Gesher HaChaim by R. Yechiel Michl Tukatchinski, Vol. I , p. 299-301.

228. Op. cit., sections 205 and 206. 229. Some authorities hold that these principles apply only to matters

arising in the days of the Talmud. (See Maharik, Shoresh 185, cited in Tosafos Yom-Tov on Kelim 3:2; Melo HaRo'im, Vol. I I , 300:21.) How¬ever, even those authorities concede that (a) these principles should be applied wherever possible, and that (b) the above restriction is relevant only when it is known that one of two disputants was more expert than the other in the field under discussion and for that reason the Halachah was fixed according to his opinion. (See, for example: Bava Basra 65a, with regard to R. Nachman's judicial experience; Tosafos on Eruvin 32a: the Halachah follows R. Sheshes in ritual prohibitions (Aram.: issurei) and R. Nachman in financial matters (Aram.: dinei); Yad Malachi, sec. 162: the Halachah follows Rav in issurei and Shmuel in dinei because, as the Rosh explains in Bava Kama 4:4, each was considered an expert in his field.) However, when discussing a principle such as a majority ruling (as in the case arising in our text), all agree that the above principles apply.

230. Kilayim 9:3; Kesubbos 12:3.

W H E R E W I L L T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N T A K E P L A C E ? BB

According to this opinion, the body wi l l be reconstructed in the Diaspora, and only after making its way to the Land of Israel through the underground tunnels wi l l it be invested with a soul. 2 3 3

Moreover, since the Gemara says that the righteous buried in the Diaspora wi l l be found worthy of gilgul, this implies that even according to R. Eleazar, the verse, " I shall bestow glory... " does not exclude the Resurrection of the dead of the Diaspora. It only tells us that the Resurrection wi l l take place in the Land of Israel, so that all those who are brought there may also be termed the "dead of the Land of Israel" (with the

231. After citing one view that those buried in the Land of Israel wi l l be the first to be resurrected, and another view that they alone wi l l be resur¬rected, the Midrash (in Bereishis Rabbah, sec. 96) quotes the objection of R. Simmon: " I f so, could it be that the righteous who are buried in the Diaspora should be deprived?! What, then, wi l l G-d do? He wil l make subterranean caverns and they wil l roll to the Land of Israel, where G-d wil l infuse in them a spirit of life and they wil l arise. And how do we know this [i.e., that the Resurrection wil l take place in the Land of Israel]?"

In answer to his own question, R. Simmon cites the Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones (Yechezkel 37:12-14); "Therefore prophesy and say to them: Thus says the L-rd G-d: 'Behold! I shall open your graves and raise you up from your graves, O My people, and I shall bring you to the Land of Israel.'" Only then, observes R. Simmon, does the pas¬sage go on to say: " I shall put My spirit into you and you shall live "

Resh Lakish adds: "It is explicitly written that as soon as the bod¬ies reach the Land of Israel, G-d wil l infuse a soul in them, as it is written (Yeshayahu 42:5), 'He gives a soul to the people upon it [i.e., upon the Land] '"

232. I , 34b; I I , 3b. However, the Ramaz comments on the former source that first the body wi l l be resurrected in its place with the same soul it had in this world. Then, after undergoing the journey to the Land of Israel, it wi l l receive a new soul. The difficulty in this explanation is that the Ramaz is commenting on a statement of R. Yitzchak, whereas on p. 128b, the Zohar quotes R. Yitzchak as saying that it is the angel Gavriel who wi l l escort the body to the Land of Israel, and only after arriving there wil l it receive a soul.

233. Zohar I I , 3b.


difference that the righteous wi l l be brought there painlessly by gilgul). When understood in this way, the view of R. Eleazar is in harmony with the universally-accepted statement of the Sages in Sanhedrin, that "all Israel have a share in the World to Come."234

T H E R E S U R R E C T I O N : W H Y IN T H E L A N D O F I S R A E L ?

The Zohar235 relates that R. Yehudah the son of R. Elazar asked this question of R. Chizkiyah: "The dead that the Holy One, Blessed be He, wi l l resurrect, — Why wi l l He not return to them their souls in the place in which they were buried and then bring them to live in the Land of Israel?"

R. Chizkiyah answered: "The A-mighty has sworn to build Jerusalem and never to destroy it, for R. Yirmeyah has said: 'The Holy One, Blessed be He, wi l l reconstruct His world and build Jerusalem and lower it ready built from above236 so that it shall never be destroyed; moreover, He has sworn that He wi l l never again send Israel into exile, and He has sworn never to destroy Jerusalem.'237 ...The dead wi l l thus receive their souls in a place that wi l l exist forever so that the soul wi l l exist in a body forever."

234. Sanhedrin 11:1; see also Shaarei Geulah (Heichal Menachem), p. 296. This concept is supported by the Shelah (Shaar HaOsiyos, end of the letter kuf), who paraphrases the Gemara (Kesubbos 111a) in these words: "R. Eleazar said, 'The dead of the Diaspora [i.e., not only the righteous] wi l l be resurrected through gilgul.'" The same concept also answers the question of Tosafos in Sotah 5a.

235. I , 114a. 236. See Rashi on Sukkah 41a; Tosafos on Shabbos 15b; Midrash Tan-

chuma, Parshas Noach, sec. 11; Zohar I , 183b, and I I , 221a. 237. Yeshayahu, ch. 62.

W H E R E W I L L T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N T A K E P L A C E ? 71

The Midrash teaches, moreover, that in time to come Jeru¬salem wi l l diffuse its sanctity over the whole of the Land of Israel, and the Land of Israel wi l l diffuse its sanctity over the whole world. 2 3 8

238. Yalkut Shimoni on Yeshayahu, sec. 503.

73

C H A P T E R 8

W H O W I L L R I S E F I R S T ?

Y Dur dead shall CDme

alive."™

G E O G R A P H I C A L L Y

The Resurrection wi l l take place in stages. According to tradition, 2 4 0 those buried in Israel wi l l be resurrected before those buried outside Israel. 2 4 1 They wi l l be followed by the gen¬eration who died in the wilderness.242 Last of all wi l l be the

239. Yeshayahu 26:19. 240. See Jerusalem Talmud, Kilayim 9:3 and Kesubbos 12:3; Zohar I , 113a;

Bereishis Rabbah 96:7. 241. See ch. 7 above. 242. This is the view of R. Yochanan. However, one view in the Zohar ( II ,

168b) holds that the generation of the wilderness wi l l rise first, and cites the verse (Yeshayahu 26:19), "Your dead shall come alive." Both the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmuds understand this verse as giving precedence to those buried in the Land of Israel.

At any rate, both opinions expressed in the Zohar hold that the generation of the wilderness has a share in the World to Come; i.e., they wil l be resurrected. This is in keeping with the opinion of R.


Patriarchs:243 when they finally rise, their joy at encountering all their righteous descendants wi l l be boundless.244 The inter¬vals between the various stages remain uncertain.2 4 5

P R E C E D E N C E

The righteous wi l l rise before others,246 and masters of Torah learning wi l l rise before those who excel in the obser¬vance of mitzvos.247 According to one tradition, the dead wi l l be summoned by name in alphabetical order, except that prece¬dence wi l l be given to those who lived their lives in humility. 2 4 8

What of those who wi l l be alive at the time of the Resur¬rection? W i l l they live through it, or wi l l they too momentarily die and be immediately resurrected?249 In support of the latter

Eliezer, as against the view of R. Akiva (see Sanhedrin 110b, and Tosafos on Bava Basra 73b). The Rebbe explains this debate in Lik-kutei Sichos, Vol. X V I I I , p. 248.

Regarding the time of the Resurrection of Moshe Rabbeinu and his generation, see ch. 6 above and footnote 12 there.

243. Avkas Rochel 2:4 cites the view of R. Shimon ben Menassiah that the Patriarchs wi l l be the first to be resurrected.

244. Ibid. 245. Ibid.; Zohar I , 139b; Ibn Ezra on Daniel 12:2; Responsa of Radvaz,

Vol. I I I , p. 644, in the name of Ritva, quoted in Ikrei HaDat at the end of Yoreh Deah. Chesed LeAvraham 3:23 writes of a period of 40 years between the Resurrection of the dead in Israel and the dead of the Diaspora.

246. Zohar I , 140a. 247. Ibid., p. 182a. See also Biurei HaZohar by the Tzemach Tzedek, p.

134. 248. Midrash quoted in Ohev Yisrael — Likkutim, on Parshas Berachah.

The Mabit (in Beis Elokim, Shaar HaYesodos, end of sec. 55) points out that according to this view Adam and Abraham wil l rise first since their names each begin with an alef. Alternatively, he suggests that perhaps the alphabetical order wi l l apply only within each generation, while the Resurrection of each generation wil l take place in historical order.

249. See: Rav Saadiah Gaon, Emunos VeDeios, end of sec. 47; Maavar Yabok 3:3; the Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch (R. Sholom Dovber

W H ם W I L L R I S E F I R S T ? 75

view, it has been argued that since at that time G-d wi l l remove the worldly impurity that precipitates death, the bodies of those who are then alive wi l l be reconstructed to live forever — and this necessitates a momentary death.2 5 0

In brief, the answer to this question, too, wi l l have to await the event.

Schneersohn), Toras Shalom (Kehot), p. 211. See also Or HaChamah on Zohar I , 116a, quoting R. Chaim Vital. See also Ben Yehoyada on Sanhedrin 92a regarding tzaddikim who were already resurrected upon the arrival of Mashiach: Wi l l they have to die and be resurrected a second time? See also, in Sefer HaSichos 5718, the third sichah on Purim. See also footnotes to ch. 9 below.

250. Zohar I I , 108b. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X V I I I , p. 409, footnote 71. Elsewhere (in Sefer HaSichos 5718, in the third sichah on Purim) the Rebbe explains that the momentary withdrawal wi l l enable those resurrected, after their great thirst for the revelations of the Resurrec¬tion, to appreciate the "great light from out of the darkness."

77

C H A P T E R 9

I N W H A T M A N N E R W I L L T H E


" Hadrian cince asked R,

IYehoshua ben Chananya:

'hum what will G-d resurrect man

in the future WDrld?'"251

T H E D E W O F R E S U R R E C T I O N

The bodies of the perfectly righteous do not decompose in the grave;252 in the majority of cases only the skeleton

251. Koheles Rabbah 12:5. 252. See Rashi on Devarim 34:7, which speaks of Moshe Rabbeinu. On the

phrase, "His eye had not dimmed," Rashi writes, "even after death"; on the phrase "and his vigor had not diminished," Rashi writes that "his life fluids remained within him: decomposition did not affect him."


remains.253 There is a tradition that one small bone is inde¬structible. Luz is its name, and from it the body wi l l be built at the Resurrection.254

See also: Shabbos 152b, concerning R. Achai bar Yoshia; Bava Basra 58a, concerning R. Tuvi bar Masnah; Bava Metzia 84b, con¬cerning R. Eleazar; Kesubbos 103a, concerning R. Yehudah HaNasi. See also Midrash Tehillim 119:9.

(Eye-witnesses to a similar case were still alive only a few years ago. Exactly twenty years after the Rebbe Rashab, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe, had been laid to rest in Rostov-on-Don in 1920, ten of his faithful chassidim risked their lives in order to exhume his body just before the old cemetery was bulldozed to make way for a Soviet housing project. They found his holy body intact, with only his tallis protecting it from the soil in which it lay, and reinterred it in its present resting place in the new cemetery in Rostov. Their contempo¬rary account of this episode has been preserved by R. Moshe DovBer Rivkin, the late Rosh Yeshivah of Torah VaDaas, in Kuntreis Ashkavta DeRebbe (N.Y., 1953), pp. 145-8. In 1961, the editor of the present volume heard a first-person description of the episode from the mouth of one of the ten participants — the late Reb Yonah Eidelkop, one of the venerable founding fathers of Kfar Chabad in Eretz Yisrael.)

At the same time, the Gemara (in Shabbos 152b) and the Zohar ( II , 108b) both hold that tzaddikim, too, wi l l return to dust for a short while before the Resurrection, even though they may have lain intact for many years. The reason: Since the sin of the Tree of Knowledge tainted the world with evil, even the bodies of tzaddikim need to be refined. However, in a talk delivered on Shabbos Parshas Bo, 5748 [1988], the Rebbe explained that this stage does not necessarily entail a literal return to dust. It can also be understood as a spiritual nullifi¬cation, in the spirit of the plea for humility that is made at the con¬clusion of Shemoneh Esreh (see Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 61): "May my soul be as dust to al l ." (See Sefer HaMaamarim — Melukat, Vol. I I , p. 280.)

253. See the Responsa of the Chasam Sofer on Yoreh Deah, sec. 337, on this subject and on the luz bone. See also Or HaTorah (by the Tzemach Tzedek) on Devarim, sec. 858. On the underlying reasons for decomposition, see Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X V I I I , p. 409, footnote 71.

254. Bereishis Rabbah 28:3; Zohar I , 69a and 137a; I I , 28b; Tosafos on Bava Kama 16b. See also Booklet 7 of the recently-discovered Reshi-mos of the Rebbe, p. 14.

I N W H A T M A N N E R W I L L T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N T A K E P L A C E ? 73

In the words of the Midrash,255 "Hadrian once asked R. Yehoshua ben Chananya: 'From what wi l l G-d resurrect man in the future world?'

R. Yehoshua replied, 'From the luz in the spine.' " Once G-d has softened this bone with the Dew of Resurrection,2 5 6 it wi l l become as yeast is to the dough, and from it the body wi l l be built . 2 5 7 The same body that decomposed wi l l be recon-

As recorded in the Midrash (in Bereishis Rabbah 14:5), Beis Shammai holds that the body wil l begin to take shape with sinews and bones, and the skin and flesh wil l follow; Beis Hillel holds that the Resurrection wil l parallel the formation of an embryo in this world, whose skin and flesh precede its sinews and bones.

255. Koheles Rabbah 12:5. 256. Jerusalem Talmud, Berachos 5:2 and Taanis 1:1. See also: Likkutei

Torah, Parshas Haazinu, p. 73c; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X I , p. 193, and Vol. X V I I I , p. 252.

The author of Ben Yehoyada on Sanhedrin 92a makes an original observation. Daniel is told by the angel (Daniel 12:13), "and you shall arise to your destiny at the end of days." In the original, this last phase is ketz hayamin — but yamin also means "the righthand side." In Kabbalistic terms, moreover, being "to the right" of something signifies not location, but progression. Now the letters that stand "to the right" of each of the four letters of the Divine Name Havayah are the letters which immediately follow them in the alphabet, namely — tal) ט״ל Significantly, their numerical equivalent totals .כוז״ו"dew"), and it is with this Divine Name that the graves wil l be opened.

257. Zohar I , 28b, and see also I I , 169a. By contrast, Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, ch. 34 (cf. Zohar I , 113a) states that the body wil l be reconsti¬tuted from decomposed matter in the grave. However, Avkas Rochel 2:4 and Avodas HaKodesh 2:40 understand this text as referring to the luz.

To understand this discussion from the perspective of Chassidus, see: Zohar I I , 83a; Likkutei Torah, Parshas Masei, p. 96b; Sefer Ha-Maamarim — Melukat, Vol. I I , p. 460.


structed. This is implied by the verse,258 יחיו מתיך — "Your dead people shall live" (and not "shall be created").259

As to identifying the luz,260 some say that it is the coccyx,261

a small bone at the base of the spine; others say that it is the bone at the back of the skull upon which the knot of the tefillin shel rosh is placed.2 6 2

C L O T H E D , H E A L E D , R E F I N E D

Some sources hold that the dead wi l l be resurrected wear¬ing the shrouds in which they were buried; according to others,

258. Yeshayahu 26:19. 259. Bereishis Rabbah 95:1; Zohar I , 115a, 126a, 130b, 203b; I I I , 91a,

216b. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. V I , p. 83, but cf. Vol. V I I I , p. 248, regarding the two possibilities. According to the view that the reconstruction is based on the luz, the original body is reconstructed, whereas according to the above-quoted view of Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, an entirely new body is resurrected. This also explains the statement in the latter source that the dead wil l be resurrected without blemish (in contrast to the statement in Sanhedrin 91b). See at length in Emu-nas HaTechiyah, ch. 2.

260. The Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 28:3) locates it in the spine. See Tosa-fos on Bava Kama 16a-b, and Bereishis Rabbah 56:2.

261. See Rashi on Bereishis Rabbah 28:3; Aruch, s.v. luz; Avodas HaKodesh 2:40; Avkas Rochel as cited above.

262. Likkutei Nach — AriZal, Parshas Shoftim; see also Likkutei Shas on Rosh HaShanah; Sefer HaMaamarim 5711, p. 209.

The above-quoted Midrash (Bereishis Rabbah 28:3) states explicitly that the luz is indestructible. (See commentaries of Rashi, Matnos Kehunah and Yefei Toar there.) Commenting on the verse (in Bereishis 2:22), "And G-d built the tzela," the author of Tzror HaMor writes in the name of Sisrei Torah that the bone is in the neck and is very hard; it wi l l neither burn nor perish. And just as G-d built the body of Eve from a bone, so too wil l He reconstitute the body from the luz.

I N W H A T M A N N E R W I L L T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N T A K E P L A C E ? 81

they wi l l be resurrected in the clothes which they normally wore in their lifetimes. 2 6 3

Though physical disabilities wi l l carry over to the time of the Resurrection, they wi l l be healed as soon as the bodies are reconstituted.2 6 4

Bodies when resurrected wi l l be as refined as the body of Adam when he was first created — and even more so.265

263. Niddah 61b; Jerusalem Talmud, Kesubbos 12:3 (and the comment of Yefei Mareh there); Tosafos (and Gilyon HaShas of R. Akiva Eger and the comment of Rashash) on Kesubbos 111b; Maharsha on Shabbos 114b; Radvaz on Rambam, Hilchos Avel 14:24; Radal on Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer 33:77; Sefer Emunas HaTechiyah, ch. 4.

264. Sanhedrin 91b; Bereishis Rabbah, sec. 95; Zohar I , 199b, and I I , 91a. Thus, too, the Zohar ( I , 203b) — and so too the Gemara (in Nedarim 8b) — writes that in time to come G-d wil l take the sun out of its sheath and heal the righteous. (Cf. footnote 259 for contrasting views.) Margaliyos HaYam on Sanhedrin 91b lists further sources. See also ch. 1 above, footnote 28.

265. It is explained in Sefer HaMaamarim 5659, p. 415, and in Sefer Ha-Maamarim 5711, p. 209, that the body of Adam was susceptible to the sin of the Tree of Knowledge whereas after the Resurrection there wil l be no sin. Indeed, even in the Messianic era, bodies wi l l be far more refined than they are now (see Sefer HaMaamarim 5637.)

83

C H A P T E R I D

L I F E A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N

W I L L T H E R E B E E A T I N G AND D R I N K I N G ?

Rav, one of the prominent Talmudic Sages, used to teach:266

"[The World to Come wi l l not be like this world.] In the World to Come, there wi l l be no eating nor drinking nor procreation2 6 7

nor business nor envy nor hatred nor competition; rather, the righteous wi l l sit with their crowns on their heads268 and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence, as in the verse,269 'They beheld G-d, and they ate and drank.' " (Rashi understands this last phrase to mean that the Jews at Sinai were just as sated by

266. Berachos 17a. See Reshimos, Booklet #10, for further sources and discussion.

267. See Sefer HaMaamarim 5679, p. 414; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X I I , p. 178. See Reshimos, Booklet #10, p. 12, with reference to mitzvos.

268. In Likkutei Torah — Derushim for Shemini Atzeres, p. 89c, the Alter Rebbe writes in the name of Ramaz and R. Chaim Vital that the new souls to be revealed at the time of the Resurrection wil l serve as crowns for the tzaddikim who already have descended into the world.

269. Shmos 24:11.


the radiance of the Divine Presence as i f they had eaten and drunk.)

Chapter 3 above has already discussed the difference in conception between Rambam and other thinkers as to the meaning of the "World to Come." According to Rambam, the above description refers to the presently-existing World of [disembodied] Souls, whereas in the future World of the Resur¬rection there wi l l be eating and drinking and so on. 2 7 0 However, most authorities2 7 1 hold that Rav is saying that after the Resur¬rection, though souls wi l l then be reinvested in bodies, there wi l l be no eating and drinking. 2 7 2

In response to this majority opinion, Rambam argues273 that it is absurd to consider that G-d would create a body equipped to perform physical functions such as digestion and reproduc¬tion in an era in which they wi l l be extinct. One of the funda¬mental principles of the faith is that G-d does not create any¬thing without a purpose. I f there wi l l be no need for physical functions, there wi l l be no purpose for a physical body.

Ramban in Shaar HaGemul274 refutes this argument at length. Firstly, there would be nothing novel in Rav's teaching if he was simply referring to the World of Souls. Moreover, after the Resurrection the body wi l l attain the status of the

270. See Rambam, Hilchos Teshuvah 8:2, and the comments of Raavad and Lechem Mishneh there; Sefer Chassidim, sec. 1129; Margaliyos HaYam, sec. 19, on Sanhedrin 90b. See Reshimos, Booklet #10 (Shavuos, 5699; Paris), footnote 1.

271. See Rav Saadiah Gaon in Emunos VeDeos, end of sec. 47 and sec. 49; Raavad on Rambam's Hilchos Teshuvah 8:2; Ramban, at the end of Shaar HeGemul; Rabbeinu Meir ben Todros HaLevi in Avodas Ha-Kodesh 2:41; Shelah, in the introduction to Beis David; R. Shneur Zalman of Liadi in Likkutei Torah, Parshas Tzav, in the second of the maamarim beginning Sheishes Yamim, sec. 2 (p. 15c); Likkutei Torah, Biur on Shuvah Yisrael, p. 65d ff.

272. See Maseches Kallah Rabbasi, ch. 2. 273. Iggeres Techiyas HaMeisim, ch. 4. 274. P. 309 (Chavel edition).

L I F E A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N 85

soul, and wi l l be sustained by spiritual sources rather than physical ones. This phenomenon is not new: Moshe Rabbeinu experienced it when he spent forty days and nights on Mt. Sinai.

The above view of Ramban is supported in the teachings of chassidic philosophy.2 7 5 The Rebbe explains2 7 6 that in this world body and soul are connected by means of food and drink, whereas in the World to Come, the body itself wi l l derive sus¬tenance from the light of the Shechinah. At the same time, this does not mean that there wi l l be no eating or drinking. Rav's statement, that in the World to Come there wi l l be no eating or drinking, means that eating and drinking wi l l not then be nec¬essary to keep soul and body together. However, there may be eating and drinking, though for a different purpose.277

The above explanation also resolves a seeming contradic¬tion in the Talmud. On the one hand it is taught2 7 8 that in the World to Come, G-d wi l l prepare a festive meal for the right-

275. Likkutei Torah, Biur on Shuvah Yisrael, p. 65d ff. See also: Torah Or, p. 20a; Likkutei Torah, Parshas Emor, p. 38c. Numerous sources in Chassidus explain that after the Resurrection the life-force of the body wil l be derived from a higher source than that of the soul; indeed, the soul itself wi l l derive its sustenance from the body. See: Sefer Ha-Maamarim 5637 (Hemshech VeKachah), sec. 91; Sefer HaMaamarim 5666, p. 528; Sefer HaMaamarim — Kuntreisim, Vol. I I , p. 413b. See also: Sefer HaMaamarim 5711, p. 209; Sefer HaMaamarim 5659, p. 97; Reshimos, Booklet #10, p. 11.

Speaking of the time of the Resurrection, the Tzemach Tzedek teaches that just as a man's hands wil l then be receptacles to the Sefi-ros of Chessed and Gevurah, and his head wil l serve as a receptacle to Chabad of the World of Atzilus, so too wil l his digestive organs "digest" the spiritual lights that are diffused from above, and wil l direct their effect to the lower worlds and kingdoms. (See Or HaTorah — Devarim, sec. 154, and Shir HaShirim, sec. 775-6.)

276. See Shaarei Geulah, p. 302, footnote 23. 277. See Shaarei Geulah, loc. cit.; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X X I , p. 87. See also

Shaarei Halachah UMinhag — Orach Chaim, Vol. I , pp. 303-304, regarding the Third Meal of Shabbos, and ch. 12 below.

278. Pesachim 119b.


eous with the meat of the Leviathan, and most authorities understand this not as a metaphor but as an actual feast.279 I f so, does this not contradict the teaching of Rav with which this chapter opened?

In an attempt to accommodate both positions, some authorities maintain that this meal wi l l take place in the Mes¬sianic era that precedes the Resurrection.280 However, according to those who maintain that it refers to the time of the Resurrection, how can there possibly be physical eating?281

According to the above explanation, however, although in the World to Come eating wi l l not be needed to fuse body and soul, it wi l l still remain a possibility — though for a different and higher purpose, such as the feast of the Leviathan. 2 8 2

279. Rav Saadiah Gaon, as quoted in Shvilei Emunah 10:2; Rashba on Bava Batra 74b; Ramban on Bereishis 1:21; R. Bachye, loc. cit.; Kad HaKemach, end of sec. 8; Raavan in Sefer Maamar HaSeichel; Ibn Ezra on Daniel 12:2; Raavad on Hilchos Teshuvah 8:4; Avodas Ha-Kodesh 2:41; Maharsha on Bava Basra 74b; Likkutei Torah, Parshas Tzav (loc. cit.). In Hilchos Teshuvah (loc. cit.), Rambam implies that these words of the Sages are metaphorical, though without utterly excluding their simple meaning. And, indeed, Ramban (in his Iggeres Hitznatzlus on Moreh Nevuchim) states that it was heard explicitly from Rambam himself that the Sages are speaking of an actual meal with wine and the meat of the Leviathan. (This answers the objection of Raavad.) See also Zohar I , 135a.

280. R. Avraham ben HaRambam in Sefer Milchamos HaShem. 281. Some authorities (see Rashba, Rabbeinu Bachye and Ibn Ezra in pre¬

vious footnotes) maintain that the meal wi l l take place at the very beginning of the period of the Resurrection. (This answers the com¬ment of Kessef Mishnah on the Raavad, Hilchos Teshuvah, loc. cit.). In Likkutei Torah, however, it is implied that the feast wi l l take place at the same time that the righteous sit with their crowns on their heads — and this is the very time of which Rav stated that there wi l l be neither eating nor drinking. This seeming anomaly is resolved in Sefer HaMaamarim 5666, p. 105, which differentiates between two distinct periods within the era of the Resurrection. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X X I , p. 87.

282. In Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, p. 420, the Rebbe explains how the feast of the Leviathan signifies the revelation of the rationale underlying the

L I F E A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N 87

W I L L T H E R E B E A D A Y O F J U D G M E N T A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I O N ?

1. Ramban283 answers Yes: on that Day every individual wi l l be judged according to his deeds.

2. Abarbanel 2 8 4 argues that since everyone is judged after death, there is no reason for any additional judgment after the Resurrection. When the Sages speak of a Day of Judgment in time to come, i.e., after the Resurrection, they mean a day of punishment and revenge — but not of further judgment.

3. The AriZal285 says that once a soul has already won atonement by experiencing Yom Kippur, and suffering, and reincarnation,2 8 6 there is no reason that it should be judged further on a Day of Judgment. Rather, the classical references to the Day of Judgment speak of the judgment of the nations of the world.

Torah and the commandments; by contrast, the time in which there wil l be no eating signifies the future revelation of the Essence of Di¬vinity by virtue of the unquestioning and superrational self-sacrifice of the Jewish people during the present era of exile.

283. Sefer HaGemul. 284. Maayanei HaYeshuah 8:7. 285. Quoted in Nishmas Chaim 1:17; see also Midrash Talpiyos: Anaf Yom

HaDin. 286. One may ask: What about those who die so close to the time of Resur¬

rection that they are not granted full atonement through reincarnation or suffering? The author of Nishmas Chaim (loc. cit.) writes that the punishment of these souls wi l l be compressed into a short period so that they, too, wi l l be granted entry to the World to Come.


W I L L D E A T H S U R V I V E T H E R E S U R R E C T I O N ?

After the Resurrection, death wi l l be no more.2 8 7 Even according to the literal understanding2 8 8 of the verse,289 "for [at that time] the youngest wi l l die a hundred years old," it does not apply to the Jewish people, for whom death wi l l no longer exist. It refers to Noachides,290 and even then, not to actual death, but to death as a metaphor signifying a fall in the level of one's spiritual attainment.291

287. Sanhedrin 22a; Zohar I , 114a; Derech Mitzvosecha by the Tzemach Tzedek, p. 28. (For Rambam's view, see the beginning of ch. 3 above.)

288. R. Chaninah in Bereishis Rabbah 26:2; see also Pesachim 68a and Sanhedrin 91b. In Sefer HaMaamarim 5711, p. 208, the Rebbe ap¬plies this verse to the Messianic era.

289. Yeshayahu 65:20. 290. See Sefer HaMaamarim — Melukat, Vol. I I , p. 280. 291. Likkutei Torah, Parshas Chukas, p. 57a. See also: Zohar I I I , 135b,

quoted in Etz Chaim, Shaar 9, ch. 2; Mevo She'arim, Vol. I I , ch. 3. In a letter published in Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X, p. 211, the Rebbe

applies this concept to the four levels of vitality within every Jew — (1) the divine soul, (2) the intelligent soul, (3) the animal soul, (4) the body — which correspond to the four realms of created matter: (1) the human, (2) the animal, (3) the vegetative, (4) the inanimate.

If the divine soul falls to the point that it no longer yearns for Di¬vinity, it is termed dead, and must be resuscitated by the study of Chassidus.

If a person is young not only in years but also in intelligence, so that his intelligent soul, instead of controlling his animal soul, is drawn after its lively passions, this reverse in roles constitutes a fall in level and it is termed dead. Education (chinuch) restores it to its place.

The animal soul, for its part, should at least live up to the standard of conduct maintained by animals, and not diverge from its appointed lifestyle. If, however, it transgresses the wi l l of its Maker, it is in a state of death (for "the wicked during their lifetimes are called dead"; Berachos 18b). This state, too, is reversible, for when rebuked and inspired to do teshuvah, the animal soul can again return to the obser¬vance of mitzvos.

L I F E A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N 8a

H O W L O N G W I L L T H E W O R L D E X I S T ?

There is a well-known teaching of R. Katina, 2 9 2 "The world wi l l exist for 6000 years and for/in one [thousand] wi l l be destroyed, as it is written, 2 9 3 'And G-d wi l l be exalted alone on that day.' "

Some commentators suggest294 that the destruction is literal: after 7000 years the universe wi l l revert to its original state of nothingness. Others hold 2 9 5 that this is a reference to the era of Resurrection: the Evil Inclination wi l l then be destroyed and removed from the world and there wi l l be no more observance of the mitzvos. Still others296 interpret the "one of destruction" as a reference to one of the six millennia. (If so, this could well be a reference to the millennium of upheaval in which we are living.) There is also a debate as to whether the Halachah confirms the statement of R. Katina 2 9 7 or not. 2 9 8 Indeed, the Kabbalists speak of 50,000 Jubilee cycles

The body serves as a receptacle to the soul. If it dies literally, the chevrah kadisha must then prepare it for eventual Resurrection.

292. Sanhedrin 97a. This teaching makes use of the phrase (in Tehillim 90:4) that likens a thousand years in G-d's sight to one passing day in the life of mortals.

293. Yeshayahu 2:11. 294. Raavad and Kesef Mishneh on Hilchos Teshuvah 3:8; Kisvei HaRam-

ban, Vol. I , p. 188; Ramban and Rabbeinu Bachye on Bereishis 2:3; Rama in Toras HaOlah, Vol. I I , ch. 25.

295. Maggid Meisharim by R. Yosef Caro on Parshas Behar and Vayakhel; Recanati on the Torah, Parshas Behar. In Torah Or, Megillas Esther, p. 96, the Alter Rebbe explains that destruction signifies that eleva¬tions have ceased.

296. Meiri, Beis HaBechirah, Introduction to Avos. 297. Responsa of Rashba, Vol. I , sec. 9. See also Reshimos, Booklet #7, p.

10. 298. Moreh Nevuchim, Vol. I I , ch. 29; Abarbanel, Mifalos Elokim 7:3. In

Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X X I , p. 453, the Rebbe points out that the state¬ment of R. Katina is widely accepted as authoritative. Note also the

3D T D L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

through which the world wi l l proceed in its process of elevation.2 9 9

discussion of the seven Sabbatical cycles (cited in Sefer HaTemunah) that the world is to go through — but see Torah Or, Parshas Shmos, p. 51d. In Shaarei Teshuvah, p. 70b, the Mitteler Rebbe discusses the elevation of the soul in each of the 50,000 Jubilees of which the Sages speak. See also Reshimos, Vol. V I I , p. 10.

299. Torah Or, Shaarei Teshuvah.

Bl

C H A P T E R I I

M I T Z V D S A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N

E T E R N I T Y O F T O R A H AND MITZVOS

After the Resurrection, wi l l the 613 commandments still apply? 3 0 0 In particular, what of those that require involvement with the physical world? If, as some authorities hold, 3 0 1 there is no eating or drinking, how wi l l one observe the mitzvah of reciting the Grace after Meals which is based on the verse,302

"And you shall eat and be satisfied, and bless the L-rd your G-d"? More broadly, what is the meaning of the Talmudic

300. This chapter is based on a talk by the Rebbe that has appeared as an essay entitled Kuntreis Mitzvos Beteilos LeAsid Lavo ("An Essay on the Question of Whether the Mitzvos wi l l be Abrogated in the Future," published in Sefer HaSichos 5752; Kehot, N.Y.). There are varying perspectives on this question, even within the maamarim of the Rebbeim of Chabad. For a full analysis of the relevant sources and views see: R. Yehudah Chayoun, Otzros Acharis HaYamim, ch. 12; and an essay by R. Yonasan Reinitz (in Kovetz Shaarei Menachem, Vol. I I ; New Haven, 5755), documenting all the sources in Chassidus.

301. See ch. 10 above. 302. Devarim 8:10.


teaching that 3 0 3 "the righteous wi l l sit with their crowns on their heads and delight in the radiance of the Divine Presence"? And wi l l there still be Torah study?304

This question in turn raises a more fundamental question — the eternal nature of the Torah. Were the commandments given to be observed only for a certain period, after which they would be revoked, or are they eternal?

Rambam writes: 3 0 5 " I t is clear and explicit in the Torah, that the Torah is an eternal commandment; it is not subject to change nor subtraction nor addition." Elsewhere in Mishneh Torah306 he clarifies this principle: " A l l the books of the prophets (Nevi'im) and all the Holy Writings (Kesuvim) w i l l be dissolved in the days of Mashiach, except for the Book of Esther, which wi l l remain — like the Five Books of the Chu-mash and like the legal rulings (halachos) of the Oral Law, which wi l l never be revoked."

The idea that the books of the prophets wi l l be dissolved in the Messianic era is based on a passage in the Jerusalem Tal-mud.307 The reason given is that all the words of the prophets are intended either to reinforce adherence to the laws given through Moshe Rabbeinu in the Chumash or to admonish peo-

303. Berachos 17a. 304. See Mabit, Beis Elokim — Shaar HaYesodos, sec. 60.

In an exposition of the verse from Shema (in Devarim 6:7) which commands us to constantly "speak of [the words of the Torah]," HaYom Yom (entry for 13 Menachem Av; cf. Avos 6:9) traces a man's involvement in Torah study through all the stages of his soul's life cycle. This involvement begins, even before the soul's descent to this world, with the time in which it is still in its original haven ("when you sit in your house"); it continues throughout his passage through life ("when you walk along the way") until the time of his passing ("when you lie down"); and it culminates at the time of his Resurrection ("when you rise").

305. Hilchos Yesodei HaTorah 9:1. 306. Hilchos Megillah 2:18. 307. Megillah 1:5; see also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XIX, p. 177.

M I T Z V D S A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N B3

ple for negligence. (In the words of the last of the prophets, for example,308 "Remember the Torah of Moshe, My servant.") In the Messianic era, when the law as given through Moshe Rab-beinu is fully observed, there is thus no more need for the words of the prophets. Furthermore, all the laws derived from the Prophets and the Writings are (previously) alluded to in the Five Books of the Chumash — and in the Messianic era, we shall be able to understand how to derive these laws directly from the Chumash.309

T H E O R A L T R A D I T I O N

It is thus clear that all the exegesis and debate of the Oral Tradition wi l l be abrogated and we shall be left with only the halachos, its clearly-defined laws. In the Messianic era, moreover, all the reasons for the commandments wi l l be revealed. Indeed, our comprehension of the Torah wi l l be on such a different level that when the prophet says that at that time 3 1 a Torah shall go forth from Me," the" — תורה מאתי תצא 0Midrash311 extrapolates: תורה חדשה — "a new Torah shall go forth from Me" (or, in another version, חידוש תורה — "a renew¬ing of the Torah shall go forth from Me"). Since the Torah is eternal, it is obvious that the Midrash is not speaking of a new set of laws; rather, it is speaking of the inner dimension of the Torah, the reasons and mysteries that wi l l be revealed by Mashiach. Thus all that wi l l remain from our pre-Messianic presentation of the Oral Tradition wi l l be the actual laws, with¬out the surrounding exegesis.

308. Malachi 3:22. 309. See Mareh Panim on the Talmud Yerushalmi, Megillah 1:5. 310. Yeshayahu 51:4. 311. Vayikra Rabbah 13:3, and commentary of Radal there.


This basic halachic framework of the Oral Law is foreshad¬owed in the Mishneh Torah of Rambam. As he writes in his Introduction, "One may first read the Written Torah and then read the present work and through it he may know the entire Oral Torah, without needing to study any other intervening work." 3 1 2

At any rate, it is clear that Rambam rules that the Five Books of Moshe and the halachos of the Oral tradition are eter¬nal.

T H E MESSIANIC E R A AND T H E R E S U R R E C T I O N

There is however an opinion in the Talmud313 that the mitz-vos wi l l no longer apply after the Resurrection. According to this opinion, the Messianic era wi l l comprise two distinct peri¬ods. In the first period after Mashiach arrives, the whole of Torah law wi l l be in force and the mitzvos w i l l be fully observed. However, from the time of the Resurrection (which is to take place forty years after the advent of Mashiach314), the mitzvos wi l l no longer be in force.

But what of the principle that all Torah laws are everlast¬ing?

312. Significantly, Rambam concludes his Mishneh Torah with the laws concerning Mashiach (Hilchos Melachim, chs. 11 and 12), for only in the Messianic era wi l l all the laws of the Torah be in effect. Indeed, the Rebbe has said that the study of Mishneh Torah wi l l hasten the approach of that era, for it is stated in Vayikra Rabbah 7:3 that the exiles wi l l be gathered together in the merit of the study of Mishnayos, which the concise halachic rulings of Mishneh Torah strongly resem¬ble.

313. Niddah 61b. For a detailed presentation of sources, see: Sdei Chemed — Klalim, Letter Mem, sec. 218; Divrei Chachamim, sec. 53.

314. See ch. 6 above.


In response to this apparent contradiction one could sug¬gest that this means that they wi l l last until the time of the Resurrection. In other words, the mitzvos apply only during the period of which it is written, 3 1 You shall]" — היום לעשותם 5observe the commandments... which I command you] today, to do them." As the Sages explain, 3 1 6 the time to do the com¬mandments is today, while in this world, but not "tomorrow, [when] you shall reap the reward," i.e., in the World to Come.317 In this light, one may perceive the observance of the mitzvos as a means of refining and elevating the world, and once this has been achieved in the period of the Resurrection, they have no further function. 3 1 8

MITZVOS AS T H E W I L L O F G - D

However, though mitzvos have an elevating capability, 3 1 9

the essence of a Divine command is the Divine W i l l — and this transcends time and place and even the world's spiritual

315. Devarim 7:11. 316. Eruvin 22a; see also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXIX, p. 41. 317. Observance of the mitzvos is mainly rewarded in the World to Come

— the World of Resurrection. See: Likkutei Torah, Parshas Tzav, p. 15c, and Shir HaShirim, p. 65d; Derech Mitzvosecha by the Tzemach Tzedek, p. 14b. See also ch. 3 above.

318. Cf. the teaching in Bereishis Rabbah, ch. 44: "The mitzvos were given only in order to refine creatures thereby." See also Sefer Halkkarim, Maamar Shlishi, end of ch. 14.

319. The Rebbe explains in a discussion of this subject that forms the basis of the present chapter, that the view of the Midrash and Sefer Halk-karim (as in the preceding note) is the "external wi l l of G-d," i.e., the wil l of G-d insofar as it is garbed in rational terms. However, His inner (i.e., essential and ultimate) wi l l is independent of any world situation.

BG ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

level at any given moment.320 The 613 commandments are a physical expression of the W i l l of the Divine Essence, which existed before the world was created and which wi l l exist for all future time. 3 2 1 I f so, how can we maintain that the mitzvos were intended to be valid only in this world, but not in the World to Come (the World of Resurrection)?

O N E P R O B L E M R E S O L V E D , O N E P R O B L E M P O S E D

A careful analysis of the context of the Talmudic teaching cited above322 —that "the mitzvos wi l l no longer apply in time to come [i.e., after the Resurrection]" — provides a solution to this apparently glaring contradiction.

The opinion is expressed that "a garment that includes kilayim [i.e., shaatnez, a prohibited mixture of wool and linen]... may be used for shrouds for the dead." This statement sparks off the following debate:

"Rav Yosef responded: 'This means that the mitzvos wi l l no longer apply in time to come' [for otherwise, those resurrected would be wearing forbidden garments].

"Abbaye (some say it was Rav Dimi) objected: 'But R. Mani said in the name of R. Yannai that this permission applies only for the eulogy but not for the burial!'

320. Herein lies the difference between the mitzvos given by the prophets and the mitzvos stated in the Torah. The former were momentary, because their purpose was only to ensure continued adherence to the Torah commands; the latter are eternal. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XIX, p. 182.

321. For a full discussion of this point, see Sefer HaMaamarim 5666 by the Rebbe Rashab of Lubavitch, p. 521, and also his Toras Shalom, p. 190.

322. Niddah 61b.


"[Rav Yosef] replied: 'Was it not taught that R. Yochanan said that it applies even for the burial? And in this R. Yocha-nan is consistent with his own teachings, for R. Yochanan taught: What is meant by the verse,323 "free among the dead"? — Once a man dies, he is free from fulfilling the mitzvos.'"

The commentaries find R. Yochanan's opinion problematic.

(1) The reason given — that the dead are free of mitzvos — is valid only when the departed are in the grave. Upon Resur¬rection, however, surely they would immediately transgress the prohibition of kilayim.

(2) Elsewhere324 R. Yochanan says: "How is Resurrection deduced from the Torah?

"I t is written, 3 2 5 'Of [these tithes] you shall give G-d's heave-offering to Aharon the priest.' But would Aharon live forever?! After all, he did not enter the Land of Israel and thereby make it possible that terumah be given to him! Rather, this verse teaches that he wi l l ultimately be resurrected, and the Jewish people wi l l give him terumah...."

Now, i f R. Yochanan holds that the mitzvos (such as teru-mah) wi l l be observed after the Resurrection, how could he permit the use of kilayim for burial? 3 2 6

323. Tehillim 88:6. 324. Sanhedrin 90b. 325. Bamidbar 18:28. 326. See Sidrei Taharah on Niddah 61b (except that this answer is valid

only according to the textual reading of the Rosh who does not quote R. Yannai, whereas our text does).

As a possible alternative answer, Aruch LaNer on this passage (based on Yoma 5b and the Zohar I , 40a) notes that Moshe and Aharon wil l be resurrected early, upon the arrival of Mashiach. Thus, in the first period of the Messianic era, when mitzvos wi l l still be ob¬served, terumah wi l l be given to Aharon; later, after the universal Resurrection, when mitzvos wi l l no longer apply, there wil l be no pro-

BS ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

A S O L U T I O N : F R O M O B E D I E N C E T O F U S I O N

The Rebbe proposes the following answer:

In the above-quoted Talmudic discussion, the teaching of R. Yochanan — that the dead are free of the commandments — is cited as an explanation of Rav Yosef's view that there is no observance of commandments after the Resurrection. How¬ever, though the dead are not obliged to observe mitzvos, the mitzvos remain.

By way of clarification: A solitary entity may indeed pos¬sess a wi l l , but this cannot be expressed as a commandment. A commandment can exist only when there are two entities, the Commander and the commanded, and the commandment con¬nects the two. 3 2 7 Before the Resurrection, therefore, when man and G-d are two separate entities, the notion of a command¬ment is conceivable. (Indeed, it is in the Messianic era, before the Resurrection, that the commandments wi l l be observed to the ultimate degree.) After the Resurrection, when the entire world wi l l be permeated with the knowledge of G-d, man and G-d wi l l (so to speak) dissolve into one entity. 3 2 8 At that time a mitzvah wi l l not connect two separate entities; rather, it wi l l express G-d's unique Unity.

This conception enables us to resolve the seeming contra¬diction between the two teachings of R. Yochanan: on the one hand, the use of kilayim for shrouds appeared to prove that there wi l l be no observance of mitzvos after the Resurrection,

hibition of kilayim. Accordingly, there is no contradiction between the two teachings of R. Yochanan. (See Teshuvah MeAhavah, Vol. I I I , p. 410.)

327. The very word mitzvah (מצוה — "commandment") shares a root with the Aramaic word tzavsa (צוותא — "together"). See Likkutei Torah, Parshas Bechukosai, pp. 45c, 47b.

328. Zohar I I I , 73a.

M I T Z V D S A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N BB

and on the other hand, R. Yochanan's evidence for Resurrec¬tion from the mitzvah of giving terumah appeared to prove the opposite.

In light of the above explanation, we can now understand that after the Resurrection the mitzvos w i l l be observed not because they are commandments that connect two separate entities, the Commander and the commanded; rather, the entire creation wi l l perform the wi l l of G-d as a matter of course.329 Terumah wi l l automatically be given since it is the wi l l of G-d. Kilayim may be used for shrouds since at the moment of Resurrection there wi l l be no such prohibitive commandment; yet since it is the wi l l of G-d that no kilayim be worn, the dead who wi l l rise wearing kilayim wi l l as a matter of course remove such garments upon their Resurrection.330

After the Resurrection, the relationship of Commander and commanded wi l l make way for a world which is sensitive to the wi l l of its Creator and responds to it spontaneously. In the same way, the link between mitzvah observance and reward and punishment wi l l be severed. Instead, all of finite humanity wi l l desire nothing more than to join hands in an ongoing quest for proximity with the Infinite Creator.

MITZVAH AND H A L A C H A H

We can now clearly distinguish between a mitzvah and a halachah. The mitzvos w i l l no longer apply after the Resurrec-

329. Cf. Midrash Tehillim on Psalm 73: " In time to come the very fig tree wil l cry out [to the intending transgressor], 'Today is Shabbos!'" See also: Ramban on Devarim 30:6; Sefer HaMaamarim of the Mitteler Rebbe — Vayikra, Vol. I , p. 433.

330. See Maharatz Chajes on Niddah 61b. One could further suggest that since it is the wil l of G-d that no kilayim be worn, by miraculous means those resurrected wil l not be wearing kilayim.

IDD ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

tion; the Halachah is eternal. A mitzvah is a commandment that connects; the Halachah is an expression of the Divine W i l l . The Divine W i l l is housed in the Torah, a "treasure" which existed before the world was created;331 in the Torah G-d inscribed His very Essence.332 It is thus eternal and independ¬ent of any and all considerations.333

T O R A H AND MITZVOS

The above concept can also be expressed in a slightly dif¬ferent manner, using the terms Torah and mitzvos. Mitzvos are designed to enable the world to function in accordance with the Divine W i l l . The Torah precedes the world. Indeed, the world was created for the sake of the Torah, 3 3 4 so that the Divine W i l l expressed in the Torah which itself transcends the world, should also be expressed within the world. After the Resurrection, when the world wi l l have been elevated, there wi l l be no more observance of mitzvos, whereas the Divine W i l l as expressed in the halachos of the Torah is eternal.

We can now better understand the meaning of the above teaching of the Sages,316 that the time to do the commandments is today, while in this world, but not "tomorrow, [when] you shall reap the reward," i.e., at the time of the Resurrection, in

331. Shabbos 88b. 332. Ibid. 105a. 333. Certain halachos relate to extremely improbable situations. Indeed,

the Gemara itself (Sanhedrin 71a) testifies that the law concerning ir hanidachas (a city corrupted by idolatry) was never applied and never wil l be applied. As explained in Tanya, ch. 5, and Tanya — Kuntreis Acharon, p. 159b, the very existence of such laws demonstrates that the entire Halachah transcends worldly parameters: it is not just legis¬lated in order to refine the world, but is simply an expression of the Divine W i l l .

334. Rashi on Bereishis 1:1.

M I T Z V D S A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N וסו

the World to Come. For the true 3 3 5 "reward for a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself," i.e., the present connection with G-d that one achieves by its observance.336 The true reward for the obser¬vance of mitzvos is to be elevated to the level of the Torah in the state in which it existed before Creation, a state in which the only entity really existing is a world that reflects the W i l l of G-d. This is the World of the Resurrection — a world which is truly connected and unified with G-d. 3 3 7

B E I S H I L L E L AND B E I S SHAMMAI

The above perspective also enables us to understand an otherwise perplexing teaching: Although nowadays (with a few exceptions) the law follows the view of the House of Hil le l against the contrary view of the House of Shammai, in time to come the Halachah w i l l accept the view of the House of

335. Avos 4:2. 336. See Tanya, ch. 39 (p. 104). See also footnote 327 above. 337. This perspective also explains a well-known exposition of the Sages on

the non-literal level of derush. There is a verse that says (Chavakuk li — (halichos olam lo) הליכות עולם לו ,(3:6 t . , "the ways of the world are His." In the Jerusalem Talmud (Megillah 1:5), these words are expounded as follows: "Do not read halichos ('the ways of the world') but halachos ('the laws of the Torah')." (See comments of Korban HaEdah and Pnei Moshe there.) There is a well-known principle (see Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X X I , p. 24) that "Do not read..." in the Talmud does not rule out the simple meaning of the verse being expounded: it adds to it. Both readings and both meanings are true. In our case, for example, we may understand that the Halachah comprises two ele¬ments: (a) halichos — "the ways of the world" which regulate the pre¬sent conduct of the world according to the wi l l of G-d (cf. Rashi on this verse); (b) halachos — "the laws of the Torah" insofar as they transcend the world. Before the Resurrection, therefore, the applicable reading is halichos, whereas in reference to the eternal nature of the law, i.e., after the Resurrection, the Talmud teaches, "Do not read halichos but halachos."'

ID2 ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

Shammai as authoritative.3 3 8 Would this switch of direction not appear to contradict the principle that the halachos are eternal and not subject to change?339

The Mishnah states:340 "Any conflict of opinion that exists for the sake of heaven wi l l survive... [such as] the conflict of opinion between Hil le l and Shammai." As the Alter Rebbe explains,3 4 1 the Mishnah means that both views are legitimate: in the present the Halachah follows the thinking of the House of Hi l le l and in time to come it wi l l follow the thinking of the House of Shammai. In other words, the two views wi l l (so to speak) take turns at being correct. The wording of the Mishnah, however, makes it clear that even when the law is changed so as to follow the House of Shammai, the difference of opinion wi l l survive.

The Rebbe resolves this anomaly as follows. In the present era the Halachah follows the House of Hil lel ; when Mashiach comes the Halachah wi l l follow the House of Shammai; at the time of the Resurrection, when the observance of mitzvos is suspended, only the halachos w i l l remain — and then both views wi l l be legitimate.

To explain: The views of the House of Hil le l and the House of Shammai — so diametrically opposed that 3 4 2 "these permit and those prohibit" and 3 4 3 "the Torah resembled two Torahs" — are only opposed when the Halachah is translated into a

338. Mikdash Melech on Zohar I , 17b, quoted in Likkutei Torah, Parshas Korach, p. 54c.

339. In the essay entitled Torah Chadashah MeIti Teitzei (Kehot, N.Y., 5751), the Rebbe explains the halachic procedure by which this change wil l be effected: a majority of the Sanhedrin which wil l recon¬vene when Mashiach comes wil l decide in favor of the House of Shammai. The real issue, of course, is not one of technical procedure, but the question of which view wi l l truly express the Divine wi l l .

340. Avos 5:17. 341. In Likkutei Torah, Parshas Korach, p. 54b. 342. Chagigah 3b. 343. Sanhedrin 88b.

M I T Z V D S A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N IDS

commandment to be observed within mortal parameters. Within the finite confines of creation, only one of two opposing opinions can be "correct". In the here and now of this world, only one can be practiced: the other must be left waiting in the spiritual realm. In the present era, therefore, and so too in the Messianic era when mitzvos wi l l still be observed, the Halachah must follow either one view or the other. At the time of the Resurrection, however, when G-d's infinity wi l l be manifest, both views wi l l be correct:344 "Both these and those are the words of the Living G-d." Both opinions wi l l then be relevant since G-d in His infinity can contain a contradic-tion. 3 4 5 This Divine capacity is echoed in the verse,346 "G-d spoke one, and two I heard."

IN C O N C L U S I O N

The Messianic era wi l l comprise two distinct periods.3 4 7

1. From the arrival of Mashiach until the Resurrection: During this period there wi l l be no obstacles to the full obser¬vance of the commandments. Indeed, their fulfillment in this world ("today — to do them") wi l l be at its zenith. 3 4 8

344. Eruvin 13b. 345. See the Responsa of Rashba, Vol. I , sec. 418; Sefer HaChakirah by the

Tzemach Tzedek, p. 34b. 346. Tehillim 62:12. 347. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, p. 417. In Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, pp.

563-4, the Rebbe compares (a) the tasks of the present era to the tasks of baalei eisek (those who are mainly occupied with the material workaday world, and whose prototype is Zevulun); (b) the tasks of the Messianic era to the tasks of yoshvei ohel (those who dwell in the tent of Torah study, and whose prototype is Yissachar); and (c) the era of the Resurrection to a perfect combination of divine service by body and soul together, as personified by Adam before the sin.

348. Cf. ch. 3 above. See Tanya — Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 26. See, however, the Alter Rebbe's Note on Tanya, ch. 36, and Likkutei Torah

ID4 ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

2. The period of the Resurrection: This is the time of reward for the observance of mitzvos. The ultimate reward wi l l be the fusion of the Commander with the commanded, resulting in the suspension of the commandments. Instead of prohibitions and obligations, the world wi l l be so filled with the knowledge of G-d that it wi l l fulfill the Divine wi l l spontaneously. This is the meaning of303 "delighting in the radiance of the Divine Presence." At that time a mitzvah wi l l not be perceived as a step towards a Divine reward: a mitzvah wil l be its own reward — the immersion of man in the Divine w i l l . 3 4 9

We opened this chapter with a simple question: If, as some authorities hold, there is no eating or drinking in the era of the Resurrection, how wi l l one then observe the mitzvah of reciting the Grace after Meals?

The answer is that i f a person were then to eat,350 he would recite grace not in conscious fulfillment of a formal obligation,

— Derushim for Rosh HaShanah, p. 59c, which speak of mitzvah observance even after the Resurrection (as do the Ran and Rashba, quoted in Sidrei Taharah on Niddah 61b). See also Shaar HaTeshuvah by the Mitteler Rebbe, Vol. I I , ch. 32. The above demarcation between the Messianic era and the era of the Resurrection solves many of the queries raised by the Maharatz Chajes (on Niddah, loc. cit.).

349. See, however, Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XIV, p. 182, and Vol. XV, p. 142, regarding the teaching in Berachos 64a: 'Talmidei chachamim (Torah sages) have no rest in this world nor in the World to Come." There the Rebbe considers the time of the Resurrection itself as comprising an initial period of mitzvah observance to be followed by a period during which mitzvos wi l l be suspended. (See Sefer HaMaamarim 5666, p. 97ff., and Sefer HaMaamarim — Melukat, Vol. I I , p. 73, footnote 61.) The argument for mitzvah observance points out that Moshe and Aharon wil l offer sacrifices after their Resurrection. However, as mentioned above, tzaddikim wi l l be resurrected during the Messianic era, before the general Resurrection. This matter requires further clarification.

350. I.e., for the reasons discussed in ch. 10 above.

M I T Z V D S A F T E R T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N IDS

but as the spontaneous response of a created being who is utterly attuned to the Divine wi l l . A more basic answer is that the question itself can only be asked so long as we perceive ourselves as being in the same frame of mind after the Resur¬rection as we are now — whereas in fact we wi l l then all be as utterly immersed in the wi l l of G-d as i f immersed within the waters that cover the ocean bed. 3 5 1

351. This closing phrase paraphrases the verse (Yeshayahu 11:9) with which Rambam chose to conclude the final chapter of his Mishneh Torah — possibly as an allusion to the state of Resurrection.

ID7

C H A P T E R 1 2

H A L A C H I C C D N S I D E R A T I D N S

A B L E S S I N G T O R E C I T E

One of our daily expressions of praise is, 3 5 2 "Blessed are You... Who resurrects the dead." When the time comes, wi l l the resurrected dead recite this blessing?

Let us consider comparable situations. Speaking of the Prophet Yechezkel's vision of the Valley of Dry Bones,353 the Talmud354 records varying views as to which song of praise was sung at that time. Speaking of the Binding of Yitzchak, 3 5 5 the Midrash356 teaches that Yitzchak's soul flew from his body at the touch of the knife on his neck, and when his soul returned, he declared: "Blessed are You... Who resurrects the dead." The Zohar 3 5 7 teaches that at the time of the future

352. Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 52. 353. Yechezkel 37:1-15; see also ch. 14 below. 354. Sanhedrin 92b. 355. Bereishis 22:1-19. 356. Pirkei deRabbi Eliezer, sec. 31. 357. I I I , 267b.

IDS ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

Resurrection, the dead when revived wi l l express their praise by singing, 3 5 8 "G-d, Who is like You?" Indeed, even when one sees a good friend after a mere 12-month interval, the Talmud359 requires that one bless Him Who resurrects the dead.

Considering these sources, some halachic authorities hold that this blessing wi l l indeed be recited at the time of the future Resurrection.3 6 0

P U R I F I C A T I O N FROM R I T U A L I M P U R I T Y

The men of Alexandria once asked R. Yehoshua ben Cha-nanyah...:361 " W i l l the resurrected dead need to be sprinkled [with the purifying waters of the Red Heifer 3 6 2] on the third and seventh day, or not?" He replied: "When they are resurrected we shall go into the matter." Others say [that he replied]: "When Moshe Rabbeinu 3 6 3 wi l l come with them." 3 6 4

The Maharsha paraphrases the above question as follows: Since many people were ritually unclean at the time of death, not having undergone purification when alive, wi l l this state continue when they are resurrected? And he understands the reply of R. Yehoshua ben Chananyah to imply that once the

358. Tehillim 35:10; Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 168. 359. Berachos 58b. 360. See Emunas HaTechiyah. 361. Niddah 69b. 362. Bamidbar 19:1-22. 363. Cf. Midrash Tanchuma, Parshas Chukas, sec. 10; Zohar I , 113b; ibid.

I I , 157a; ibid. I I I , 168b. 364. For a detailed analysis of this passage see Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X V I I I ,

p. 239-252; the Responsa entitled Chasam Sofer on Yoreh Deah, sec. 337. See, however, Aruch LaNer; Aruch HaShulchan HeAsid, Hilchos Tumas HaMes 9:5. See also Or HaTorah by the Tzemach Tzedek on Bamidbar, sec. 409 and 636-7.

H A L A C H I C C D N S I D E R A T I D N S IDS

original body has dissolved, no uncleanliness is transferred to the new body; hence no purification is required.

This discussion has wider implications. Anyone wishing to enter the courtyard of the Beis HaMikdash must be ritually clean. How, then, can Mashiach build the Beis HaMikdash and dedicate it i f he is a person living today and has presumably come into contact with other people who are ritually unclean?

As one possible solution, one could rely on the principle that i f the majority of the community is ritually impure, they are permitted to enter the Beis HaMikdash in order to conse¬crate it. This was the case with the Hasmoneans in the Chanu-kah story.365

Alternatively, there is the opinion that Moshe and Aharon wi l l be resurrected with the coming of Mashiach, and Aharon himself wi l l sprinkle the waters of purification. This solution presupposes that a person who was ritually pure and then died and was later resurrected is not defiled by the transient state of death. (This assumption is explained by the above words of the Maharsha, that the resurrected body is not the same as the previous body.) However, what of those tzaddikim whose bodies do not decompose in the grave? Do their bodies not become ritually impure upon death? The Halachah establishes that the righteous upon death do not impart ritual impurity. Indeed, there are halachic authorities3 6 6 who therefore allow Kohanim to pray at the graveside of great tzaddikim.

Others hold that the Prophet Eliyahu wi l l sprinkle the cleansing waters, and that this is the meaning of the teaching in the Talmud367 that "Resurrection comes through Eliyahu." 3 6 8

365. See R. Sh. Y. Zevin, HaMoadim BaHalachah (in English: The Festi¬vals in Halachah, Vol. I I , p. 52).

366. See Sdei Chemed; Aseifas Dinim, s.v. Eretz Yisrael; Shaarei Halachah UMinhag (pub. by Heichal Menachem), Vol. I I I , p. 395.

367. Sotah 49b (lower margin).

ז ]11 • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

T H E S T A T U S O F K O H A N I M

W i l l those Kohanim who were anointed with olive oil in the times of the First Beis HaMikdash369 require anointing afresh upon their Resurrection? Some sources state370 that only Aharon and his sons wi l l not require anointing. Others hold 3 7 1

that all Kohanim wi l l have to be re-anointed since the body is new. By way of possible compromise, it has been suggested that the tzaddikim whose bodies did not decompose wi l l not require anointing, whereas all other Kohanim wi l l .

O U T S T A N D I N G S A C R I F I C E S

W i l l a person who in his lifetime did not offer an obligatory sacrifice in expiation of his sin be required to discharge this obligation after Resurrection? The AriZal is evidently of the

368. The Chasam Sofer (in his Chiddushim on Sotah 49b) rejects the view that Eliyahu HaNavi wi l l be ritually pure; rather, G-d Himself wil l cleanse us. The Chida, however, points out (in Midbar Kdeimos, Maareches Alef, sec. 26) that since the AriZal was cleansed by the waters of the parah adumah by Eliyahu HaNavi, this implies that the latter was ritually pure.

The Rebbe explains (in Sichos Kodesh 5720, erev Shavuos, sec. 7) that "Resurrection comes through Eliyahu" because he refined his own materiality to such an extent that he entered heaven with his body: he transmuted it and permeated it with Divinity — and this, essentially, is the state of Resurrection.

369. Rambam, Hilchos Klei HaMikdash 1:7. (There was no sanctified oil in the Second Beis HaMikdash; see Rambam, Hilchos Beis HaBechirah 4:1.)

370. Toras Kohanim, Parshas Tzav, sec. 18; Midrash Rabbah, Parshas Naso, sec. 14.

371. Rambam, Sefer HaMitzvos, Shoresh 3; Rashbatz in Zohar HaRakia, quoted in the Responsa entitled Rav Pe'alim, Vol. I I , Sod Yesharim, sec. 2; Kli Chemdah on the end of Bereishis.

H A L A C H I C C D N S I D E R A T I D N S

opinion that the sacrifice must still be offered, but the question remains unresolved.372

M A R R I A G E F O R E V E R

W i l l a man and his wife when newly resurrected need to be remarried, or does the original marriage bond continue? Some authorities suggest that a new marriage wi l l have to be con-tracted.3 7 3

372. See Lev Chaim, Vol. I , sec. 31; the Chida in Pnei David on Parshas Vayikra, quoting the AriZal; the Responsa entitled Rav Pe'alim, loc. cit. The Chida cites the Gemara (in Yoma 80a) as evidence that no sacrifice is required after death.

373. See the Ben Ish Chai in the Responsa entitled Rav Pe'alim, loc. cit. The poskim debate the case of a person who died momentarily and

was immediately resurrected (cf. the case cited in Kesubbos 62b, and the incident involving Rabbah and R. Zeira in Megillah 7b). See Knesses HaGedolah, cited in Baer Heitev on Even HaEzer 17:1; Birkei Yosef on the same source; Siach HaSadeh, Vol. I I : Likkutim, sec. 4; the Responsa entitled Chessed LeAvraham (Mahadura Tinyana), sec. 14; Shoel UMeishiv, Vol. I I , sec. 131; Beis Yitzchak on Even HaEzer, Vol. I , 6:14; Avnei Nezer on Even HaEzer, end of sec. 56.

On the related question as to whether there wi l l be procreation after the Resurrection, Rambam answers affirmatively (in Iggeres Teiman, cited in Chiddushei Yad Rama on Sanhedrin, beginning of Perek Cheilek). See, however, ch. 10 above.


A WOMAN W I T H T W O HUSBANDS

A divorcee who remarries wi l l remain married to her sec¬ond husband upon Resurrection.374 There is a difference of opinion as to the status of a widow who remarries.375

T H E H O N O R D U E T O P A R E N T S

Though the body dissolves and upon Resurrection is reconstituted, the obligation to honor one's parents wi l l con¬tinue to apply. 3 7 6

374. The Responsa entitled Rav Pe'alim, loc. cit.; Anaf Yosef on Sanhedrin (beginning of Perek Cheilek), in the name of Sefer HaNitzachon; Yad Shaul on Yoreh Deah 366:3.

375. The author of Rav Pe'alim holds that she wil l return to her first hus¬band; the author of Sefer HaNitzachon holds that she wil l return to the second. The author of Piskei Teshuvah (sec. 124) first cites the reply of Sefer HaTechiyah of R. Saadiah Gaon — that this question wil l be resolved by Moshe Rabbeinu upon his resurrection — and then pro¬ceeds to cite the Zohar ( I , 21b) as evidence that a woman in this situation wil l return to her first husband. (The question of where a remarried widow should be buried is discussed in Gesher HaChaim, Vol. I , ch. 27, sec. 7:3.)

376. The Responsa entitled Rav Pe'alim, loc. cit. See, however, Toras Moshe (by the Chasam Sofer) on Shmos 4:26.

113

C H A P T E R 1 3

P R A Y E R S A N D C U S T O M S

A T E N D O F N I G H T , A T E N D O F D E A T H

Every morning, one's first wakeful words are Modeh ani...377

— " I offer thanks to You, living and eternal King, for You have mercifully restored my soul within me; Your faithfulness is great." Some commentaries378 on the Siddur perceive this statement as an affirmation of our faith in Resurrection: just as G-d returns our departed souls to our body anew each day, so too wi l l He resurrect the dead.

Soon after Modeh ani, early in the Morning Blessings, comes the following explicit statement on the Resurrection:377

"My G-d, the soul which You have placed within me is pure. You created it... , and You preserve it within me. You wi l l eventually take it from me, and restore it within me in Time to Come. So long as the soul is within me, I offer thanks to You...,

377. Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 6. 378. Anaf Yosef in Siddur Otzar HaTefillos, based on Bereishis Rabbah 78:1

and Eichah Rabbah 3:21.


Master of all works, L-rd of all souls. Blessed are You, G-d, Who restores souls to dead bodies."

Likewise, three times a day, the second blessing of Shemoneh Esreh379 praises Him Who "resurrects the dead with great mercy... , and fulfills his trust to those who sleep in the dust Who can be compared to You, King, Who brings death and restores life, and causes deliverance to spring forth! You are trustworthy to revive the dead. Blessed are You, G-d, Who revives the dead."3 8 0

T H E M E L A V E H M A L K A H M E A L

With the Melaveh Malkah meal at the close of Shabbos, the Sabbath Queen is escorted on her way. This meal nourishes the luz bone, and from this bone the body wi l l be reconstituted at the time of the Resurrection.3 8 1

379. Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 51. 380. In Likkutei Sichos (Vol. IV, p. 1081; Vol. V I , p. 84, footnote 29; and

Vol. X I I I , p. 75), the Rebbe discusses the connection between "great mercy" and the Resurrection.

Sefer Chassidim (sec. 305) explains that the Resurrection is men¬tioned in Shemoneh Esreh immediately after the paragraph concerning the Patriarchs because one of the Biblical sources which the Talmud cites for the Resurrection relates to the Patriarchs (Sanhedrin 90b). (See Torah Shleimah on Shmos 6:4, and Maharsha on Sanhedrin, loc. cit. ) In Likkutei Sichos (Vol. XXIV, p. 56, footnote 84), the Rebbe explains why G-d's power of giving rain (gevuros geshamim) is men¬tioned (by the phrase, mashiv haruach umorid hageshem) in the para¬graph which speaks of the Resurrection. In Derech Chaim (p. 95), the Mitteler Rebbe explains how this power is related to the Divine at¬tribute of Gevurah.

381. This is discussed in ch. 9 above. See the Siddur of R. Yaakov Emden, in the section entitled Zemiros leMotzaei Shabbos, Mechitzah Daled; Kaf HaChaim, Hilchos Shabbos 300:1; Mishnah Berurah, Vol. I I I , sec. 300:2, and Shaar HaTziyun there.

P R A Y E R S A N D C U S T D M S 115

O U R B O D Y : T H E W O R K O F G - D ' S HANDS

During the summer months between Pesach and Rosh Ha-Shanah it is customary to study a chapter of Pirkei Avos ("The Ethics of the Fathers") every Shabbos afternoon. Each week's reading is prefaced by the following mishnah:382 " A l l Israel have a share in the World to Come, as it is said, 3 8 3 'Your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever; they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in whom I take pride.'" This preface implies that knowing of the reward in the World to Come is a relevant introduction to the study of Pirkei Avos.

Now, the World to Come is the reward for a person's entire service of G-d through Torah and mitzvos. Why, then, was this particular mishnah selected as an introduction to Pirkei Avos?

The Rebbe Reb Heschel (in Chanukas HaTorah: Likkutim, sec. 209) observes that Adam introduced death into the world by eating of the Tree of Knowledge: those organs that were nourished at that time, which was a Friday, were destined to decompose. The luz bone alone wil l never decompose, because it is nourished only by the Melaveh Malkah meal.

The author of Elijah Rabbah (on Orach Chaim, sec. 300) writes: " I have heard that the luz did not receive nourishment from the Tree of Knowledge." (The Chasam Sofer (Responsa on Yoreh Deah, sec. 337) writes similarly, without noting a source.) Surprisingly, however, El-jah Rabbah also states (citing the Levush, and see also Zohar I , 137a) that "since the luz bone is not nourished by food, it did not benefit from the Tree of Knowledge." Above, however, we learned that the luz is nourished by the Melaveh Malkah meal. Maavar Yabok cites three opinions: (1) It receives no nourishment whatsoever from food; (2) it is sustained only by the food of Shabbos; (3) it is sustained only by the wine of Havdalah. In brief, the matter awaits clarification.

382. Sanhedrin 11:1. 383. Yeshayahu 60:21.

IIG ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

What specifically connects this reward with the content of A v o s ? 3 8 4

To answer the above question a further introduction is nec¬essary. One of the reasons given for studying Avos at this time of year is that man's desires are aroused at this time, and the study of Avos inspires him to pursue positive character traits. 3 8 5

The content of Avos is thus ethical. 3 8 6 However, the Talmud states387 that the teachings of Avos are directed to a chassid, one who aspires to transcend the basic requirements of the law 3 8 8 — yet the custom is that every Jew, from the smallest who is just starting his spiritual path in life, to the greatest who is not distracted by bodily desires, both read Avos. This tractate thus possesses two dimensions — one ethical, relating to the control of one's passions, and so on, and the other chassidic, relating to the aspiration to transcend the letter of the law. Both these dimensions are represented in the preface, " A l l Israel have a share in the World to Come," as we shall now clarify.

The World to Come as mentioned in this mishnah is a ref¬erence to the Resurrection.3 8 9 The reward of the Garden of Eden — the World of Souls — is not equal to all Israel, 3 9 0

whereas in the world of Resurrection, when all souls wi l l be

384. This question in fact insists on being answered, for this tractate is beamed at a person who desires to be a chassid (see Bava Kama 30a) — and such a person wil l seek to serve G-d without an eye to reward.

385. See the Introduction to Midrash Shmuel. 386. See comment of Bartenura at the beginning of Avos. 387. Cf. footnote 384 above. 388. See Derech Chaim by the Maharal. 389. This was explained in ch. 3 above. Cf. Bartenura on Sanhedrin 11:1,

and Midrash Shmuel. 390. In fact there are those who do not even merit the reward of the Garden

of Eden: i f not for the intercession of R. Meir, Acher would not have been admitted there (Chagigah 15b).


reembodied, all Israel wi l l have an equal share, as is explained at length in the teachings of Chassidus.391

The reason for this distinction is that the reward of the Garden of Eden — for souls without bodies — is granted mainly for Torah study,392 which varies (among other things) with the intellectual faculties of each individual soul. The reward of the Resurrection, by contrast, is granted for the mitz-vos which were observed with and through the body; it is thus appropriate that it be granted to embodied souls.393 Since indi¬vidual Jews vary widely in their study of the Torah, their respective rewards in the Garden of Eden also vary widely. The observance of mitzvos, however, belongs to the realm of action, which is equal to all: even the sinners of Israel are as full of mitzvos as a pomegranate is filled with seeds.394 For this reason, all Israel have a share in the Resurrection of the World to Come.

This raises a difficulty. How could it be that Resurrection, which is a greater reward than that of the Garden of Eden, is granted for the mitzvah observance of even a simple Jew? Surely the scholar's more elevated manner of serving G-d through Torah study should be more richly rewarded than the simple Jew's observance of the mitzvos.

The explanation: Superficially, all Jews are equal in the realm of action, which is the most basic of human faculties and

391. See the second maamar in the Appendix below. See also: Torah Or, Parshas Yisro, p. 73b; Likkutei Torah, Parshas Shlach, p. 46d; the maamar entitled Ki Yish'alcha, sec. 1, in Sefer HaMaamarim 5679 and Sefer HaMaamarim 5700. See also Sefer HaMaamarim 5672, Vol. I I , p. alef-112: Although the Resurrection wil l also comprise various levels, they are different from those of the Garden of Eden.

392. There is Torah learning in the Garden of Eden (see Tanya, ch. 41), but no observance of mitzvos.

393. See Tanya — Iggeres HaKodesh, ch. 17; Derech Mitzvosecha, s.v. Tzitzis, chs. 1 and 3.

394. Chagigah 27a.

IIB ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

requires neither mental nor emotive greatness. At the same time, this seemingly unimpressive faculty of action is uniquely precious.395 G-d's ultimate wi l l is that Jews should construct for Him an "abode in the lower worlds" — in this world, the low¬est of all worlds. 3 9 6 It is specifically this World of Action that embodies the purpose of creation — the refining and elevation of the body and its environs. And since all Jews are "the branch of My planting and the work of My hands," all Jews feel this inner intent and carry it out.

We can now understand why the reward of Resurrection is granted specifically to embodied souls. G-d's intent of having an abode in this physical world is reflected in every Jew — who is one with the Essence of G-d — since G-d's choice focuses not only on the Jew's soul but also on his body.3 9 7 This also explains the everlasting aspect of a Jew's physicality — the luz bone,3 9 8 from which the body wi l l be reconstituted at the time of the Resurrection. In this way, even when the physical world has been refined and elevated and transmuted into an abode for G-d, His choice of the Jewish body wi l l still be manifest.

To revert to our original question: Why is the study of Avos prefaced by the mishnah that teaches that " A l l Israel have a share in the World to Come"? — In order to stress that the study of Avos, which guides one in refining the physical body, is vital to every Jew, for his body, too, is the work of G-d's hands.399 It is in the work of His hands that G-d takes pride: 3 8 3

395. Cf. Avos 1:17: "What matters most is not study but action." 396. Tanya, ch. 36. 397. See Tanya, ch. 49, and at length in Toras Shalom, p. 120; see also

HaTamim, Vol. I , p. 30. 398. Bereishis Rabbah 28:3; Zohar I , 28b; Tosafos on Bava Kama 16b. 399. The source of the phrase jetzir kapai ("the work of My hands") is

Pesikta Rabbasi, sec. 47. The commentators on our mishnah ("All Israel...") note that it

quotes the whole of the verse, including its final phrase ("the work of My hands, in whom I take pride"), because it is this closing phrase

P R A Y E R S A N D C U S T D M S IIB

"though last in creation, it was first in [G-d's] thought."4 0 0

Since it is the work of G-d's hands, every Jewish body has the potential to be refined. 4 0 1 Furthermore, since G-d 4 0 2 "devises means that he that is banished be not cast away from Him," even such a man wi l l eventually be refined. Thus no one, however lowly he may be, has the right to excuse himself from refining his body.4 0 3

On the other hand, since G-d takes pride in the work of His hands, viz., the body, not even the man of stature described above by the Sages as a chassid, should underestimate the value of refining and elevating his body.

The lesson of the mishnah is therefore twofold: it reminds the individual tempted by his passions of the Divine Source of his body, and it teaches the chassid that even though he is beyond the temptations of the body he should not refrain from elevating the physical world, for in this lies the ultimate pur¬pose of creation.4 0 4

that shows that the verse refers to the Resurrection of embodied souls. (Concerning the word "land", by contrast, it could be argued that it refers to the Garden of Eden; cf. Likkutei Torah, Parshas Vaeschanan.) This also explains why the Rambam (in Hilchos Teshuvah 3:5) does not quote the end of the verse, for according to his opinion the World to Come refers to the World of Souls.

400. From the Lechah Dodi hymn (Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 132). See also Torah Or, Parshas Vajigash.

401. Excepted are those who have no share in the World to Come; see ch. 5 above.

402. II Shmuel 14:14. 403. Cf. Avos 2:16. 404. Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X V I I , p. 343.

I2D ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

T H E T H I R D M E A L O F SHABBOS

The usual custom of the Rebbeim of Chabad was not to eat bread for the Third Meal on Shabbos but to fulfill the mitzvah by partaking of lighter refreshments. The Rebbe fully explains4 0 5 the basis for this custom both according to the Halachah, the legal framework of the Torah, and according to Chassidus, the inner dimension of the Torah; moreover, he explains how these two explanations obviously harmonize, since the revealed and the mystical dimensions of the Torah — the nigleh and the nistar — are (respectively) the Torah's body and soul. 4 0 6

The Third Meal of Shabbos foreshadows the Shabbos-like state that wi l l prevail in the World to Come. As to the well-known statement of the Sages407 that " in the World to Come there is neither eating nor drinking...," the Rebbe points out that the world view of the AriZal and of Chassidus coincides not with the stance of Rambam — which identifies the World to Come with Gan Eden, and perceives the ultimate reward as being enjoyed by disembodied souls — but with the stance of Ramban and many other major authorities: The ultimate state and the ultimate reward at the time of the Resurrection wi l l be enjoyed by souls that are garbed in bodies.408 At that time the ultimate superiority of the body wi l l finally become apparent.

In the above-quoted sichah, the Rebbe used these concepts and others to explain why the Third Meal should in fact be marked by eating, and also explains why alternatives to bread may be perceived as more than merely permissible substitutes.

405. See Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X X I , p. 84-88, and sources noted there. 406. Zohar I I I , 152a. 407. Berachos 17a. 408. See ch. 3 above, and sources there.


P R E P A R A T I O N F O R B U R I A L : B U R I A L AS A P R E P A R A T I O N

Many of the laws and customs observed by the chevrah kadisha when preparing a man's physical remains for burial are inspired by the anticipation of Resurrection.4 0 9

For example: Though in practice the use of costly shrouds is forbidden, one of the Sages held that their use evidences a belief in the Resurrection.4 1 0 Conversely, one of the reasons that cremation is forbidden is that it denies the principle of Resurrection.4 1 1 Finally, an aerial view of a Jewish cemetery (known in the Holy Tongue as Beis HaChaim — "The Home of the Living") often discloses that the plots are arranged in such a way that the foot of each grave is directed towards the Holy Land; within the Holy Land, towards Jerusalem, the Holy City; within Jerusalem, such as on the ancient Mount of Olives, towards the Temple Mount — so that the body of every departed Jew is laid to rest "as i f ready to arise and go up to Jerusalem."412

409. Emunas HaTechijah, ch. 4. 410. Nimukei Yosef to the Rif, Moed Katan 17a. 411. R. Yechiel Michl Tukachinsky, Gesher HaChaim, Vol. I , pp. 155-6.

This does not mean, of course, that a person whose body was cremated by force of circumstance (such as by accident or in the Holocaust) wi l l not be resurrected. In the words of R. Tukachinsky (p. 154), "the Creator of A l l restores his limbs for his future Resurrection."

412. Ibid., p. 138. (In some cemeteries, for the same reason, the custom is that the foot of each grave is directed toward the [path leading to the] gate through which one leaves.)

123

C H A P T E R 1 4

T H E C D N C E P T D F

R E S U R R E C T I O N I N

A V D D A S H A S H E M

Throughout the literature of Chassidus, discussions of man's divine service are often enriched by a glance at the con¬cept of Resurrection. Here is a brief sampling.

R E S U R R E C T I O N : F R O M C E R E B R A L F R I G I D I T Y TO S P I R I T U A L E M O T I O N

The Rebbe Rashab once taught:413 "The avodah of serving G-d according to Chassidus comprises all possible levels The spiritual level represented by a corpse does not need much elaboration. At the same time, thank G-d, spiritual avodah also comprises a metaphorical revival of the dead. A corpse is cold — and there is nothing as frigid as natural intellect, mortal intellect. Accordingly, when one's natural

413. HaYom Yom, entry for 11 Sivan.


intelligence comprehends a G-dly concept, and the spiritual emotions latent in the intellect [such as one's dormant love of G-d] are enthused and moved by this intellectual pleasure, that is a true revival of the dead."

R E S U R R E C T I O N : B R E A T H I N G L I F E INTO P H Y S I C A L I T Y

The Rebbe once explained:4 1 4 A l l the rewards of the time to come are a direct result of one's present actions. Moreover, since4 1 5 "the reward for a mitzvah is the mitzvah," every par¬ticular reward resembles its corresponding avodah. Thus, for example, the reward for the mitzvah of charity is wealth. Ex¬pounding on the non-literal level of derush, the Sages found a hint of this in the verse,416 עשר תעשר (lit., "you shall surely tithe"). Noting the similarity between the root עשר ("to tithe") and the root עשר ("to grow rich"), the Sages teach,4 1 עשר בשביל 7 ".Tithe in order to grow rich" — שתתעשר

At any rate, since every reward resembles its antecedent avodah, and since the ultimate future reward wi l l be granted in the era of the Resurrection, it follows that even today there must be an element of Resurrection in our avodah that wi l l be rewarded by Resurrection in the future.

This element of Resurrection may be sought in the follow¬ing way. When a thinking Jew is involved in worldly things which are physical and moreover material, he realizes that they are not everlasting. Even a person who really desires any physical object realizes (even during the moments that he is enjoying it) that it does not last forever, and that there wi l l

414. At the farbrengen of Yud Shvat, 5723 [1963]. 415. Avos 4:2. 416. Devarim 14:22. 417. Taanis 9a.

T H E C D N C E P T D F R E S U R R E C T I D N I N A V D D A S H A S H E M 125

come a time when even he himself wi l l no longer enjoy it. It could take an hour, a month, a year, ten years, or even more — but at the end of the day he realizes that such pleasure is only momentary; such rewards do not last forever.

Contemplating this, he comes to understand that since the object of any physical desire is limited by time it cannot be termed true life or living.

A Jew's purpose is to inject an everlasting dimension into his physical life by connecting with G-d, Who in His infinity transcends time and place. When a Jew connects a physical object with G-d, he is in fact injecting it with real life and creating something that is everlasting.

Taking a dead object, i.e., something that is purely physi¬cal and limited by time and space, and infusing it with a breath of eternal life, — this is true Resurrection.

From this perspective we are able to appreciate the depth of a well-known teaching of the Sages:418 "The righteous even after death are called alive... ; the wicked even during their lifetime are considered dead." What does this mean? The wicked during their lifetime attach importance to the physical, which is limited and shortlived — in a word, dead. The right¬eous attach importance to the spiritual. They are thus alive even after death, since they charged their physical life with an eternal dimension.

A Jew's task is therefore to resurrect — to transform a fel¬low Jew who even during his lifetime is not alive into one of the righteous who even after death are alive.

418. Berachos 18a-b.

I2G ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

R E S U R R E C T I O N : R E A C H I N G O U T TO A V A L L E Y O F D R Y B O N E S

The following 4 1 9 is a condensation of a talk 4 2 0 in which the Rebbe drew lessons from one of the most dramatic narratives in all of the prophetic Books — the Prophet Yechezkel's vision of the Valley of Dry Bones.421 This passage is read in the syna¬gogue as the Haftorah for Shabbos Chol HaMoed Pesach.422

* * *

The Prophet relates his experience in these words:4 2 3 "The hand of G-d was upon me, and He carried me out in the spirit of G-d, and He set me down in the midst of the valley, and it was full of bones. He made me pass by them around and around, and behold, there were very many over the surface of the valley, and behold, they were very dry. And He said to me: 'Son of man, can these bones come alive?' And I said: 'L-rd G-d, You know.' And He said to me: 'Prophesy concerning these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, listen to the word of G-d! Thus said the L-rd G-d to these bones: Behold, I wi l l cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live; and I wi l l lay sinews upon you, and bring flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath within you, and you shall live — and you shall know that I am G-d.' "

419. Until the subheading, "Resurrection: Sharing Uninterrupted Life." 420. On Shabbos Parshas Acharei-Kedoshim, 5746 [1986]. A complete

translation of this talk has been published by Sichos In English as an essay entitled, "Dry Bones — Before and After." In Reshimos, Booklet #7, p. 10, the Rebbe explains why it was specifically Yechezkel who revived the Dry Bones.

421. Yechezkel 37:1-15. 422. Tur Orach Chaim, sec. 490, explains in the name of Rav Hai Gaon

that this Haftorah is read during Pesach since the Resurrection wil l take place in the month of Nissan.

423. Yechezkel 37:1-6.


Certainly the allegorical meaning of this experience was clear to the Prophet Yechezkel, and to all of his fellow exiles who sat by the waters of Babylon, and wept when they remem¬bered Zion. Here was a clear assurance from G-d: He would gather together their stricken remnants, lead them home to Eretz Yisrael, and rebuild the Beis HaMikdash in Jerusalem.

Yet the vision yearns to utter more than a symbolic mes¬sages. As the words of G-d conveyed to us through His Proph¬ets are eternal, this narrative must also speak to us today. And indeed, it is clearly a message addressed to Jews who are sen¬sitive to the plight of those of their brethren who have lost the lifeblood of Yiddishkeit, the values and lifestyle of the Torah. It is a message that urges us to accelerate the vital work of spreading Torah and Yiddishkeit and disseminating the well-springs of Chassidus.

There are those who argue that when Jews are on the out¬side, so to speak, spiritually no more than dry bones, there is no use speaking to them; one should wait until they have been brought within the fold, and have been clothed in flesh, sinews and a living spirit. Only then, so it is argued, can one teach these dry bones the word of G-d. There are even those who rationalize that publicly addressing these forgotten bones who lie forlorn on the valley floor is dangerously innovative. "We must walk in the footsteps of our revered predecessors," they argue; "why should we begin to deal with dry bones?"

The answer to these seekers of pious excuses is simple: The question of which footsteps of our predecessors are to be emulated, must be determined by consulting the Torah. And here, explicit before us in one of the 24 Books of the Written Torah, is the story of the Valley of Dry Bones. Precisely this is where to seek the real footsteps of our fathers that we should faithfully follow.

Yechezkel uttered his prophecies in the Diaspora. This particular prophecy was spoken in a valley, a place that is

I2S ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

lowly and far away. The valley was filled with bones — of Jews who had not carried out G-d's w i l l . 4 2 4 The bones were strewn about and forsaken; indeed, G-d Himself testified that they were very dry. Nevertheless, the Prophet Yechezkel tells us that G-d commanded him to speak to them: "And He said to me: 'Son of man... , prophesy concerning these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, listen to the word of G-d!' "

This is a lesson that must penetrate our hearts: I f there are Jews who are void of the lifeblood and invigorating spirit of Judaism, who appear to be nothing more than dry bones, we must speak to them! For after all, they are425 "children who have been taken captive among the gentiles." Their environ¬ments have deprived them of the means of discovering even the alef-beis of Judaism. Though in their present state they have neither spirit, nor sinews, neither nerves, nor flesh, nor skin, G-d tells us: Your heart has feelings, so awaken its innate sympathy for your Jewish brothers. You are a son of man, so imagine the pity your Father must feel for them. Go and tell those dry bones: "Listen to the word of G-d!" While they are still in their present condition, reach out and give them the word of G-d.

In response to this call, a person might limit himself to focusing his efforts on a single skeleton. Yechezkel therefore tells us that he was commanded to address a valley that was filled with bones. We must step out from our closed precincts into the center of town, into the streets of New York, and call out: "O dry bones, listen to the word of G-d!" We must not limit our outreach work to places in which there are more liv¬ing, vibrant Jews than dry bones: we must address our message to all those vast valleys whose sole inhabitants are dry bones.

424. Sanhedrin 92b and Rashi there. 425. Cf. Shabbos 68b.

T H E C D N C E P T D F R E S U R R E C T I D N I N A V D D A S H A S H E M 12a

F O R E S T A L L I N G D A N G E R T O Y O U R N E I G H B O R ' S L I F E

This duty is closely connected to another obligation: 4 2 6 "Do not stand still when your neighbor's life is in danger" (lit., "Do not stand still over your neighbor's blood"). To these words Rashi adds, "...witnessing his death when you are able to save him; for example, i f he is drowning in a river or being attacked by a wild beast or robbers."

But these are not the only examples. When the Torah states that 4 2 7 "the blood is [associated with] the soul," it is telling us that a Jew's true lifeblood is his spiritual life, his Torah and mitzvos. The above verse — "Do not stand still over your neighbor's blood" — thus sounds a broader warning: Do not stand idly by i f your neighbor is in spiritual danger. I f his life-sustaining nutrients, his Torah and mitzvos, are ebbing away before your very eyes, you cannot look the other way. Instead of waiting until you are obliged to rejuvenate dry bones, step forward and reconnect his transfusion before he dehydrates.

Consider the first example that Rashi offers. Your neighbor may be drowning in a river of raging waters — a familiar chas-sidic metaphor for over-involvement in the turbulent torrents of materiality; he may be struggling to remain afloat in the surg¬ing ocean of his own corporeality. In such a situation the Torah admonishes us not to stand by idly: we can throw him a lifeline of Torah and Yiddishkeit. And i f you ask, "Why me?" — the answer is that G-d would not show you such a phenomenon just to cause you sorrow: the very fact that Divine Providence ordained that you are there to see him drowning is itself proof enough that you can help him.

426. Vayikra 19:16, and Rashi there. 427. Devarim 12:23.

!3D ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

O B S T A C L E S A R E M A D E T O L E A P O V E R

The Rebbe Maharash used to say: "The world says that if you can't crawl under an obstacle, then you have to clamber over it. And I say: Right from the outset, leap over it!"428

This bold and optimistic approach to divine service disre¬gards conventional procedures and defies all inhibitions. It lifts the individual into a higher realm in his own divine service and streamlines his efforts at disseminating Torah and Yiddishkeit.

When one is confronted with the sight of a brother Jew who is — spiritually speaking — in a life-threatening situation, the appropriate response is to leap over all obstacles, without fearing the (metaphorical) wild beasts or robbers. This is why the above verse concludes, " I am G-d," for the ruler of all the world's rivers and wild beasts and robbers is G-d Himself. When a Jew sets out to save his fellow, he should fear nothing on earth: G-d is by his side and wi l l grant him success.

O U T R E A C H IS N O T AN O P T I O N A L F R I L L

There is another meaning to this concluding phrase, " I am G-d." To these words Rashi adds, "...Who may be relied upon to reward and to punish." When the Evil Inclination, whose Yiddish nickname is der kluginker ("the sly fellow"), artfully pours cold water on man's efforts, he needs to be reminded that G-d grants reward. As we read in Pirkei Avos,429 "Know... Who your Employer is that wi l l pay you the reward of your labor";

428. In the Heb./Yid. original the last sentence reads, Lechat'chilah ariber! 429. 2:14.


and again,4 3 0 "Your Employer may be relied upon to pay you the reward for your labor."

Sometimes one needs to remind one's Yetzer HaRa of the punishment that awaits those who obstruct a Jew's divine service, who seek to sidetrack people who set out to save their fellow Jews by disseminating the knowledge and practice of Yiddishkeit. Among these people are the shluchim, the emissaries who carry out the holy mission of the Rebbe Rayatz by disseminating the wellsprings of Chassidus to the furthest outposts of Jewry. His agents (and 4 3 1 "an agent may in turn appoint an agent") should remember his directive: Disseminating Yiddishkeit is not a hiddur mitzvah, a spiritual luxury that technically may be dispensed with. It is quite literally a matter of life and death. As the Rebbe Rayatz declared: Do not stand still over your neighbor's blood; you can save him! And i f you find him already in a state of dry bones, then bring him back to life!

Above all, i f a formidable obstacle looms up on the horizon and threatens one's efforts at spreading Yiddishkeit and Chas-sidus, one should recall the motto of the Rebbe Maharash: "Right from the outset, leap over i t !"

A P R O M I S E O F S U C C E S S

In the prophecy of Yechezkel, G-d promises that such efforts wi l l bear fruit, that they wi l l bring dry bones back to life: 4 3 2 "Behold, I wi l l cause breath to enter into you, and you shall live; and I wi l l lay sinews upon you, and bring flesh upon

430. Ibid. 2:16. 431. Kiddushin 41a. 432. Yechezkel 37:5-6.


you, and cover you with skin, and put breath within you, and you shall live — and you shall know that I am G-d.' "

For indeed,4 3 3 " I prophesied as I was commanded; ... and I looked, and behold, there were sinews upon them, and flesh came up, and skin covered them over,... and the breath of life came into them: they came alive and stood up on their feet, an exceedingly great multitude."

This passage gives us the potential and the guarantee — that when we carry out our mission by addressing the word of G-d to the dry bones all around us, through disseminating Torah and Yiddishkeit and Chassidus, we wi l l succeed in bringing the dry bones back to life as "an exceedingly great multitude." Together with them we wi l l greet Mashiach, for 4 3 4

" I wi l l bring you to the Land of Israel... and I wi l l place you in your land," and 4 3 5 " I wi l l sprinkle upon you purifying waters." This task awaits Mashiach — may he come in our time!

May G-d bless all outreach projects with success. As to those whose missions take them to distant places, let them remember that as the physical distance [from here] is increased, the spiritual closeness is intensified. And carrying out the above-mentioned directives with ahavas Yisrael, with a sincere love of every fellow Jew as we are commanded in the Torah 4 3 6 — "Love your neighbor as yourself" — wi l l bring about the revelation of G-d's innate love for every Jew. In this spirit of liberation may we go out to greet Mashiach with the true and complete Redemption, speedily in our days.

* * *

433. Ibid. 7-8, 10. 434. Ibid. 12, 14. 435. Yechezkel 36:25. 436. Vayikra 19:18.


R E S U R R E C T I O N : SHARING U N I N T E R R U P T E D L I F E

The Rebbe Rayatz once related:4 3 7 "The Alter Rebbe was asked by his Rebbe, the Maggid of Mezritch, a question which he in turn had been asked by his Rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov: 'What do you remember?'

On this the Rebbe Rayatz commented: "This question has given life — a veritable Resurrection — to generations of chassidim. Resurrection means long life, true life. Death denotes interruption, whereas long life is life without interrup¬tion — and that is true life: no lack of life, but more than life. In avodah this means that not only is one alive, but one also animates others.

" In summary: True life is holiness, and holiness is infi¬nite."

R E S U R R E C T I O N : T H E E L E V A T I O N O F D I V I N E S P A R K S

In the primordial stages of creation, so the Kabbalah reveals, numerous sparks of Divinity fell as exiles into the realms of uncleanliness. There each spark is obliged to wait — until some individual somewhere chooses to make proper use of the particular fragment of materiality in which that dormant spark is embedded. By doing so he liberates and elevates it; he gives it renewed life.

437. Sefer HaMaamarim 5710, p. 262.


In the literature of Chassidus,438 this animation of seemingly lifeless sparks is often termed resurrection.

R E S U R R E C T I O N : R E H A B I L I T A T I O N FROM SIN

Three times a day in the Shemoneh Esreh we say,439

"Blessed are You, G-d, Who revives the dead." The Mitteler Rebbe explains4 4 0 that this blessing refers not only to the ulti¬mate Resurrection, but also to the present resurrection of those souls which, having sinned, now renew their connection with the G-d of Life through teshuvah. While in the state of sin they are termed "dead"; as the Sages teach,441 "The wicked even during their lifetimes are called dead." When, however, they return in teshuvah, they come alive.

Every day, thanks to G-d's mercy, is a time for teshuvah; hence every single day comprises an element of Resurrection.

R E S U R R E C T I O N : D E F Y I N G T H E I N H I B I T I O N S O F N A T U R E

On the same day4 4 2 on which the Rebbe delivered the above sichah on the vision of the Valley of Dry Bones, he opened a discussion of the Messianic era by quoting the words of Ram-bam at the conclusion of his Mishneh Torah:443 "One should not entertain the notion that in the era of Mashiach any element of

438. See, for example, Torah Or, p. 9a, and Torah Or on Megillas Esther, p. 117c.

439. Siddur Tehillat HaShem, p. 52. 440. Derech Chaim, p. 95. 441. Berachos 18b. 442. Shabbos Parshas Acharei, 5746 [1986]. 443. Hilchos Melachim 12:1-2.


the natural order wi l l be nullified, or that there wi l l be an inno¬vation in the work of creation. Rather, the world wi l l continue according to its pattern. Although Yeshayahu states,444 'The wolf shall dwell with the lamb...,' these [words] are an allegory and a riddle... Our Sages taught:445 'There wi l l be no difference between the current age and the era of Mashiach except [our emancipation from] subjugation to the [gentile] kingdoms.' "

Now, is it not surprising that Rambam rules that in the Messianic era there wi l l be no miracles? After all, one of the Thirteen Principles of Faith enunciated by Rambam himself is belief in the Resurrection, which is surely a major miracle. 4 4 6

We may therefore assume447 that there wi l l be two periods within the Messianic era — an initial period that abides by the natural order, followed by a second period which wi l l be miraculous. When Rambam quotes the statement in the Gemara that in the Messianic era there wi l l be no deviation from the natural order, he is referring to the first period. Hence, even i f there is no change at that time, as long as our people have been freed of foreign subjugation, the Messianic era has been ushered in. Rambam adds, however, that since no man knows exactly how all these events wi l l unfold, 4 4 3 the pos¬sibility remains that miracles wi l l occur immediately and the prophetic promise that "the wolf shall dwell with the lamb" is not a parable but literal. 4 4 8

444. Yeshayahu 11:6. 445. Berachos 34b. 446. See also Likkutei Sichos for Parshas Bechukosai, 5745 [1985], sec. 9. 447. For a full discussion by the Rebbe on this subject, see I Await His

Coming Every Day (prepared by Sichos In English; published by Ke-hot, N.Y., 1991), p. 51ff.

448. Iggeres Techiyas HaMeisim, ch. 6. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XV, p. 417. According to this view, when Rambam in Mishneh Torah defines the Messianic era merely in terms of emancipation from for¬eign subjugation, he is only giving the minimum halachic criteria for that era; he is not ruling out the possibility of its being miraculous.


There wi l l be no need to wait and see whether this first period wi l l be miraculous or otherwise, for Chassidus449 rules that the prophecy is literal and there wi l l be immediate changes in the natural order.

The above explanation sheds light on the following anom¬aly. The Haftorah for Shabbos Chol HaMoed Pesach, in the middle of the festival, is the prophecy of Yechezkel 4 5 0

regarding the resurrection in the Valley of Dry Bones.451 The Haftorah of Acharon Shel Pesach, the last day of the festival, is the prophecy of Yeshayahu452 about the coming of Mashiach. Why is the expected order reversed?

The Alter Rebbe writes in Tanya453 that the ultimate ful¬fillment of the purpose of creation — that G-d should have an abode in the lower worlds 4 5 4 — is attained by our current actions and spiritual labors. Our current actions should there¬fore foreshadow the Messianic state.

This kind of avodah is expressed in two ways:

(a) The thrust of every Jew's avodah is geulah — Redemp¬tion; its goal is to redeem the G-dly spark within himself and his surroundings.

(b) Every Jew's avodah should be steered by the attitude that there are no obstacles, which wi l l indeed be the case in the Messianic era.

This second point carries extra weight i f we realize that the Messianic era wi l l be miraculous. This implies that our current

449. See Shaar HaEmunah (end); Or HaTorah — Nach (Vol. I I I ) , p. 633b; Sefer HaMaamarim 5637[1877], chs. 17, 94.

450. Yechezkel, ch. 37. 451. The Tur (Orach Chaim, sec. 490) explains that since the ultimate

Resurrection wil l take place in the month of Nissan, we read a Hafto-rah on a related subject on Pesach.

452. Yeshayahu 10:32ff. 453. Ch. 37. 454. See chs. 2 and 3 above.


avodah toward bringing about the Messianic Redemption must also be pursued with supernatural strength.

This is the lesson we learn from the fact that the Haftorah of Resurrection precedes the Haftorah of Messianic Redemp¬tion: Our entire avodah toward bringing about the Redemption should be undertaken in a miraculous and supernatural matter. Rather than seeing obstacles, we should announce with 4 5 5

"words that come from the heart [and] enter the heart" that Mashiach is coming: the time of our Redemption has arrived.

IS M Y T I E S T R A I G H T ?

One4 5 6 of the Sages of the Gemara once declared to his dis-ciples: 4 5 7 "The least among you can resurrect the dead."

It is well known how this statement applied to the disciples of the Alter Rebbe.458 From this one may understand that when [a chassid] is at the level of a "disciple of Moshe" [i.e., stand¬ing in humble deference to his Rebbe], then even "the least among you [and with these words the Rebbe pointed at the chassidim whom he was then addressing] can resurrect the dead."

455. Sefer HaYashar by Rabbeinu Tam, sec. 13; Shelah, p. 69a. 456. This section summarizes a talk delivered by the Rebbe on Shabbos

Parshas Shemini, 5748 [1988]. 457. Avodah Zarah 10b. 458. The Rebbe Rayatz once said (Sefer HaSichos 5703 [1943]): "One may

likewise apply this dictum to the disciples of R. Hillel [of Paritch — a renowned chassid]. Physical death is the absence of vitality, a state of frigidity. Spiritual death, too, is frigidity; one's prayers are cold; one's observance of the mitzvos is cold; even one's singing and dancing is cold. R. Hillel educated his students to have warm hearts; even the least sophisticated of them could resurrect — i.e., could warm up — their cold fellow Jews."


We are speaking not only of resurrection that relates to the spiritual avodah of oneself or of others; we are speaking even of the physical realm. There is a well-known story459 that illus¬trates the teaching that one should "think good and things wil l be good": through positive thinking one can perform an act of resurrection. (In fact, "thinking good" not only transforms a

459. Retold by the Rebbe Rayatz in Likkutei Dibburim, Vol. I , p. 317 (and in Eng. translation: Vol. I I , p. 28):

One of the mashpi'im in the Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah was Reb Michael.[...] When he was a young man one of his children became so dangerously i l l that his doctors said nothing could be done. He went straight off and told a group of his fellow chassidim of his grievous situation. They lent him strength, urged him not to despair because without a doubt the Almighty would be merciful, and advised him to set out at once for Lubavitch [to see the Rebbe Rashab].

Hearing this he broke out into tears. He would dearly love to go to Lubavitch, he said, but the doctors had said that now it was only a matter of hours; what was the point of setting out on such a journey?

One of the elder chassidim turned to him sternly: "Doesn't the Ge-mara tell us explicitly, אל ימנע עצמו מן הרחמים — 'Let no man preclude the possibility of mercy'? So for sure the advocating angels wi l l persuade the Almighty to wait with His final decision until you reach the Rebbe!"

Reb Michael thereupon set out on foot for Lubavitch accompanied by a chassidisher friend, a tailor by trade, and once or twice they were able to shorten the journey by taking cheap rides with passing wagons. And as soon as they arrived there, Reb Michael had the good fortune to be admitted to yechidus at once.

"As I walked into the Rebbe's study," Reb Michael himself related, "and handed the Rebbe the pidyon nefesh with the child's name writ¬ten on it, the thought flashed through my mind: 'Who knows what's doing with the child? Didn't the doctors say it was only a matter of a couple of hours?' And I wept bitterly.

"The Rebbe read the note and said: 'Don't cry. Tracht gut — vet zain gut! Think good and things wil l be good. Don't lament! You'll celebrate the bar-mitzvahs of your grandchildren.'

"Whenever hard times came," concluded Reb Michael — for in later years he was to suffer anguish in the upbringing of his children, " I would always picture to myself the Rebbe's holy face, and recall those holy words that he told me at yechidus — and things would work out well for me."

T H E C D N C E P T D F R E S U R R E C T I D N I N A V D D A S H A S H E M 13a

negative to a positive state: it even preempts the negative state before it occurs.)

And i f there can be resurrection in the physical realm, how much more so in the spiritual realm, in which everyone has the ability to revive the "dead" in himself — for nothing can stand in the way of willpower.

Resurrection is called for not only when one has reached a situation comparable to death, but also, as the Sages say,460

"One who falls in level is called dead." So, too, one whose level of avodah falls short of his full spiritual potential is also called "dead".

Consider the case of a certain individual who was born and raised among chassidim, who studied in the Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah, who was privileged to be given directives by the Rebbe [Rayatz], who used to deliver chassidic discourses, and so on — but who then made money and now argues that his mission in life is to be an industrious Zevulun, 4 6 1 a financial supporter of Torah institutions. I f so, he argues, he no longer has the time to study Chassidus and "daven with avodah" (i.e., to meditate at length over the depths that Chassidus reveals in the prayers). Such an individual has fallen in level.

The same applies to a person who has remained a studious Yissachar461 and has also taught many students, but who argues that he has no time for the self-refining labors of avodah. He, too, has fallen in level.

This applies especially to the exertion one invests in one's daily prayers. The Alter Rebbe rules in the Shulchan Aruch that before prayer one must reflect for an hour to concentrate one's thoughts. (As the Mishnah teaches,462 "the early chassi-dim used to spend one hour" in preparation for prayer.) At the

460. Zohar I I I , 135b; Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X, p. 211. 461. See Rashi on Devarim 33:18. 462. Berachos 5:1.

I4D ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

very least, one should pray in the manner described in Kuntreis HaAvodah and Kuntreis HaTefillah.463

One must ask oneself honestly: When was the last time one prayed with earnest preparation? I am not going to cause em¬barrassment by addressing this question to anyone personally — but everyone should look into the mirror (like those who religiously follow the local custom of checking their tie in the mirror before they go out) and realize whom the above words are aimed at.

463. Essays on the chassidic way in prayer by the Rebbe Rashab. The latter has been published in Eng. translation (by Kehot, N.Y.) under the title, Tract on Prayer.

141

A P P E N D I X I

" T D U N D E R S T A N D

T H E C O N C E P T D F

T E C H I Y A S H A M E I S I M ,

T H E R E S U R R E C T I D N D F T H E D E A D

A C H A S S I D I C D I S C O U R S E

The* Mishnah states:1 "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come." In this Mishnah, the term "World to Come" refers2

* This maamar, delivered by the Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Acharei, 5746 [1986], was published to mark the conclusion of the eleven months during which the Rebbe recited Kaddish after the passing of his wife — the saintly Rebbitzin Chayah Mushka, of blessed memory — on 22 Shvat, 5788 [1988]. It was reprinted in Sefer HaMaamarim — Melukat, Vol. I I I , p. 33ff.

The above English version, footnotes included, is taken almost verbatim from Anticipating the Redemption: Maamarim of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, Concerning the Era of Redemption, translated by R. Eliyahu Touger and R. Sholem Ber Wineberg (Sichos In English, N.Y., 1994), p. 15ff. The reader wil l note that this version intentionally reflects the distinctive flavor and style of presentation that characterizes all maamarim.

Parentheses () indicate parentheses in the original Hebrew text; square brackets [] indicate additions made by the translators; squiggle brackets {} indicate square brackets in the original Hebrew text.

1. Mishnah (Sanhedrin 10:1), customarily recited before beginning the study of Pirkei Avos.


to the "World of Resurrection." This is indicated by the con¬tinuation of the Mishnah: "The following do not have a portion in the World to Come: He who says that 'there is no indication in the Torah that the dead wi l l be resurrected.' " The reason [why such an individual is denied a share in the World to Come] is, as the Gemara explains:3 "He denied the Resurrec¬tion of the Dead, therefore he wi l l not have a share in this Res¬urrection — measure for measure." Thus, [it is with regard to Resurrection of the Dead] that it is said: "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come."

Gan Eden, [the Garden of Eden, the spiritual realm of the souls,] {is at times also referred to as the World to Come.4 Al¬though Gan Eden exists now as well, 5 [it is given this name which implies a future event] because it is attained by man after his labor in this world 6}. As the verse states,7 "Who may ascend the mountain of G-d?... He who has clean hands and a pure heart."

This verse indicates that there many requirements for attaining the state of Gan Eden.8 With regard to the Era of

2. Bartenura (and other commentaries) on Sanhedrin, loc. cit.; Midrash Shmuel, beginning of Pirkei Avos.

3. Sanhedrin 90a. 4. Rambam, Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah 8:8. Even according to

the resolution in Chassidus (see Likkutei Torah, Parshas Tzav, p. 16c, et al.) that the World to Come (generally) refers to the Era of Resur¬rection, at times Gan Eden is also called the World to Come, as men¬tioned in the maamar, and annotated in footnote 11 below.

5. Accordingly, we can explain our Sages' rhetorical question, "Are there then three worlds?" (Sanhedrin 90b). Although it would seem that there are indeed three worlds: our world, Gan Eden and the Era of Resurrection (see Sefer Halkkarim, ch. 30 and conclusion of ch. 31, quoted in Or HaTorah, Parshas Shelach, p. 543), since Gan Eden ex¬ists now as well, it may be considered as part of our world.

6. Rambam, loc. cit. 7. Tehillim 24:3-4. 8. This applies to even the lower level of Gan Eden, as stated in the dis¬

course Ki Yishalcha which is cited in the note that follows. See also

" T D U N D E R S T A N D T H E C D N C E P T D F R E S U R R E C T I D N " 143

Resurrection (the principal appellation of the World to Come), by contrast, it is stated that "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come."9

This requires explanation. The revelations that wi l l charac¬terize the Era of Resurrection far surpass those of Gan Eden. This is evident from the fact that Gan Eden exists now as well, while the revelations of the Era of Resurrection wi l l not be manifest until that time. Moreover, the revelation of the Era of Resurrection wi l l follow (even) the Era of Mashiach.

{This is also indicated by the expression:10 "There is none comparable to You... in this world; and none apart from You... in the life of the World to Come; there is nothing aside from You... in the Era of Mashiach; and there is none like You... in the Era of Resurrection of the Dead." These four epochs are arranged in ascending order. The revelation of the World to Come (in this context, Gan Eden11) is loftier than the revelation that can exist in this world. Higher still , is the revelation in the Era of Mashiach. And on an even higher plane is the revelation of the Resurrection of the Dead — superior even to the revela¬tion in the Era of Mashiach.}

[This requires explanation.] Many conditions must be met to merit the revelation of Gan Eden, while the revelation of the Resurrection of the Dead, which is vastly superior to that of Gan Eden, w i l l be granted to all Jews.

the series of maamarim 5672 [entitled BeShaah SheHikdimu], Vol. I I , beginning of ch. 379 (foot of p. 779).

9. Ki Yishalcha 5679 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5679, foot of p. 351ff.) and Ki Yishalcha 5700 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5700, foot of p. 44ff.).

10. The Shabbos liturgy. See the detailed explanation of this concept in the discourse entitled Ein Aroch Lecha 5652 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5652, p. 6ff.).

11. Sefer HaMaamarim 5652, loc. cit.; the series of maamarim 5672 [entitled BeShaah SheHikdimu], Vol. I , ch. 279 (p. 565); I I , ch. 380 (p. 781); I I I , p. 1387.


n T h e core of one of the explanations offered with regard to this matter is as follows: As stated in many dis-

courses,12 Gan Eden is granted as a reward for Torah study, while the Resurrection of the Dead comes as a reward for the observance of mitzvos. This explains why Gan Eden is a world of (incorporate) souls, while in the Era of Resurrection, the souls wi l l be enclothed in bodies. For Torah study relates pri¬marily to the soul, while the observance of mitzvos relates pri¬marily to the body.1 3

A l l Jews observe mitzvos; indeed, "Even the sinners of Israel are as full of mitzvos as a pomegranate [is full of] seeds."14 Therefore "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come."

It is possible to explain that this is also the intent of the Mishnah's citation of the prooftext,15 "And your people are all righteous; they shall inherit the land forever...." By quoting this verse, the Mishnah not only testifies that all Jews have a share in the World to Come, but also explains why this is so.

A person who observes mitzvos is referred to as "righteous", a tzaddik. {Since all the mitzvos are referred to as tzedakah16 — "righteousness", those who perform mitzvos are termed tzaddikim — "righteous individuals"}. 1 7 Since "your people are all righteous," all Jews (even the sinners among them) observe mitzvos. Moreover, they are "filled with mitzvos";

12. Torah Or, Parshas Yisro, p. 73b. See also Sefer HaMitzvos of the Tzemach Tzedek, p. 15b; the discourses entitled Ki Yishalcha 5679, beginning of ch. 2 (Sefer HaMaamarim, loc. cit., end of p. 353ff.), and 5700, ch. 4 (Sefer HaMaamarim, loc. cit., p. 48).

13. See Tanya, ch. 35 (foot of p. 44a ff.); ibid., ch. 37 (p. 49a-b), et al. 14. Eruvin 19a; Chagigah 27a. 15. Yeshayahu 60:21. 16. See Tanya, ch. 37 (p. 48b). See also citations in Sefer HaMaamarim

— Melukat, Vol. I , p. 308, footnote 33. 17. Likkutei Torah, Shir HaShirim, p. 16c; the first discourse entitled Kol

Yisrael Yesh LaHem Cheilek LaOlam HaBa 5626 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5626, p. 192), et al.


i.e., the mitzvos they observe f i l l their entire existence and being. Therefore "they shall inherit the land forever" — the "Land of Life," 1 8 which refers to life in the World to Come.

The above explanation, however, does not account for the Mishnah's mention of the conclusion of the verse, "they are the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in which I take pride." [This phrase highlights] the essential virtue possessed by [all] Jews, that they are "the branch of My planting, the work of My hands" — (possessing this virtue independent of their observance of mitzvos).

[By quoting this phrase as part of the prooftext for the con¬cept,] "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come," the Mishnah indicates that the share all Jews possess in the World to Come is (also) a result of their inherent virtue.

m [This leads to the conclusion] that there are two as¬pects to the revelation that wi l l characterize the Era

of Resurrection of the Dead:

(a) The reward for the observance of mitzvos ("your people are all righteous") — at that time, the Divine energy that is drawn down through the observance of the mitzvos in the pre¬sent era wi l l be revealed.

(b) (Afterwards,19) they wi l l ascend to a higher level, the revelation of the inherent virtue in [every] Jew: [every Jew] is

18. Or HaTorah — Nach, on this verse in Yeshayahu, ch. 3 (p. 288). 19. After the revelation of the Divine energy the Jews draw down through

the observance of mitzvos — see footnote 49 below — [they wil l merit the revelation of their essential virtue].

On this basis, we can explain the order of the verse: "Your people are all righteous" refers to the virtues achieved by the Jews through their divine service. As a result, "they shall inherit the land forever." Next comes the higher quality, "the branch of My planting...." It is possible to explain that after the Jews "inherit the land" and the Di¬vine energy they drew down through their observance of the mitzvos ("Your people are all righteous") is revealed, their essential virtue as "the branch of My planting... " can then be expressed.


"the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in which I take pride." This is an even higher level than [the revelation of] the Divine energy drawn down through the observance of mitzvos.

[This second aspect] represents the primary new dimension of the Resurrection of the Dead. For the revelation of the Di¬vine energy drawn down through the observance of mitzvos w i l l also exist during the Era of Mashiach (which wi l l precede the Resurrection).

As explained in Tanya,20 through our [positive] actions and Divine service at present, we draw the Or Ein Sof (G-d's infi¬nite light) into our world. The revelation of this Divine energy wi l l take place in the Era of Mashiach and in the Era of Resur¬rection. ([More particularly,] in the Era of Resurrection, this revelation wi l l be on a higher plane.21) Thus the primary new dimension and the true ascent of the Era of Resurrection wi l l be the revelation of the source of the Jewish people, the di¬mension which is rooted in G-d's very Essence.22

We may say that the explanation found in many discourses (and mentioned above) — that the Divine energy that is drawn down through the observance of mitzvos wi l l be revealed in the Era of Resurrection — [focuses on only one aspect of the Era of Resurrection]. [These discourses] speak of the reward that Jews wi l l receive in the World to Come as a result of their Di¬vine service in the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos in

20. Tanya, ch. 37 (at the beginning and on p. 48a). 21. See ibid., ch. 36, which mentions "the Era of Mashiach and in par¬

ticular, when the dead wil l be resurrected." 22. See the series of discourses entitled Yom Tov Shel Rosh HaShanah

5666, p. 507, which states, "The ultimate ascent to be attained in the Future Era is that [the Jews] wi l l reach their true root and source; there is nothing higher than this... [This relates to the expression] 'and there is none like You, our Deliverer in the Era of Resurrection of the Dead.' At that time, the true root and source of souls in the essential Truth of G-d's essence wil l be revealed."


the present age.23 The most complete form of reward [for this observance] is [the Torah and mitzvos themselves, i.e.,] — the Divine energy that the Jews draw forth through the observance of mitzvos w i l l be revealed to them. [And this wi l l be manifest in the Era of Resurrection.]

These discourses, therefore, [contrast this reward with] the reward received by the souls in Gan Eden, which is the com¬prehension of the G-dliness enclothed in the Torah that they studied in this world. The Torah is G-d's wisdom, the Divine illumination of memale [kol almin, G-d's immanent light, the G-dliness that enclothes itself in all the worlds, and relates to every particular level of existence^

In the Era of Resurrection, [we wi l l receive a more sub¬lime] reward. Our eyes wi l l behold the infinite Divine light 2 4

that is drawn down through the observance of the mitzvos, [the level of] Divine wi l l (that transcends Divine wisdom). This re¬fers to the light of sovev [kol almin, G-d's encompassing light which transcends the entire framework of limited existence^

This reflects, however, only the reward received by the Jewish people for their divine service of observing the Torah and its mitzvos.25 The primary new dimension of the World to Come, however, is [a more elevated quality,] the revelation of the innate virtue of the Jewish people themselves — as "the

23. See Ki Yishalcha 5700 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5700, p. 45): "The simi¬larity between them (Gan Eden and the Era of Resurrection) is ... they are a reward and bestowal of goodness [for one's actions in this world]."

24. The wording of the Tzemach Tzedek in the passage from Sefer HaMitz-vos cited in footnote 12.

25. The revelation of the Or Ein Sof drawn down by the Jewish people through their observance of the mitzvos, wi l l be manifest within the world at large as well. {Nevertheless, the Jewish people wi l l be privi¬leged to a greater dimension of this revelation. See Tanya, conclusion of ch. 36 and ch. 37 (end of p. 47b ff.)}. [The fact that this revelation relates to the world at large] also indicates that this wi l l not be the primary aspect of the World to Come.


branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in which I take pride."

Let us explain (the three levels, Gan Eden and the two levels that wi l l be revealed in the Era of Resur¬

rection) mentioned above. Our Sages teach:26

The prophets all prophesied about the Era of Mashiach alone, but with regard to the World to Come, it is said, "No 2 7 eye has glimpsed it, but You alone."

Our Sages continue:

What is [referred to by the verse]: 'No eye has glimpsed it'? This is Eden, upon which the eye of no created be¬ing has gazed. Should you ask: "Was not Adam, the first man, in Gan Eden, the Garden of Eden?"... [It can be explained that] the Garden is one entity [and there Adam was situated,] but Eden is yet another."

[This passage indicates that in] the World to Come, (the Resurrection of the Dead,) there wi l l be a new dimension that surpasses [the revelation of] the Era of Mashiach. This wi l l be the revelation of Eden, [a level so elevated, that until this revelation] "No eye has glimpsed i t ."

Although the World to Come wi l l also include the revela¬tion that is elicited through the observance of the mitzvos, this is not the fundamental aspect of the World to Come. For this revelation wi l l (in a general sense) also be appreciated in the Era of Mashiach. The fundamental element of the World to Come is the revelation of Eden — G-d's essential delight in the Jewish people, a delight that is even greater than the

26. Berachos 34b. 27. Yeshayahu 64:3.

" T D U N D E R S T A N D T H E C D N C E P T D F R E S U R R E C T I D N " 14a

pleasure He derives from [their observance of] the Torah and its mitzvos.28

In many sources,29 the difference between the Torah and its mitzvos is explained [as follows]. Within the Torah, which is G-d's Wisdom, is vested a radiation of G-d's delight. Within its mitzvos, which are G-d's wi l l , is vested the essence of delight (which is called 'Eden').

Thus with regard to Gan Eden, it is written, 3 0 "And a river went forth from Eden to irrigate the garden." This means that the delight that radiates to the souls in Gan Eden (as expressed in the comprehension of the Torah) is an effusion of Eden, [G-d's essential delight,] that has been severely contracted. [To speak in figurative terms,] it is drawn down through the river that separates the Garden from Eden.

The World to Come, however, in which the reward for the observance of the mitzvos is revealed, wi l l include the revela¬tion of Eden itself. [I.e., this passage appears to imply that the essential delight of Eden is the degree of delight attained through the observance of the mitzvos, and not the essential delight that G-d takes in the Jewish people per se, as explained above.]

It is possible to offer [the following resolution]: In a general sense, [we can classify Eden as the essential delight in the mitzvos]. More specifically, however, the level of Eden that wi l l be manifest in the World to Come is the revelation of G-d's

28. See the series of discourses entitled Yom Tov Shel Rosh HaShanah 5666, p. 105. (P. 106) of that source states that it is possible to reach G-d's essential delight through teshuvah (repentance), but not through the observance of the Torah and its mitzvos. Teshuvah reveals the dis¬tinctive quality present within all Jewish souls, which is loftier than the Torah and its mitzvos.

29. Sefer HaMitzvos, cited in footnote 12. 30. Bereishis 2:10.


essential delight in the Jewish people, a delight that surpasses His essential delight in the mitzvos.

This is evident from the fact that in the Era of Mashiach, there wi l l also be the revelation of [His delight in] the mitzvos (in a general sense), and nevertheless [a distinction is made between the Era of Mashiach and the World to Come]. And it is emphasized that the revelation which "No eye has glimpsed," (the level of Eden,) w i l l not be manifest in the Era of Mashiach. [Thus the fundamental aspect of Eden must be something other than His delight in mitzvos, and is defined as His essential delight in the Jewish people.]

V T o clarify the superiority of the Era of Resurrection over the Era of Mashiach (and [in a more particular

sense,] the difference between the two levels within the Era of Resurrection), it is necessary as a preface to explain the supe¬riority of the Era of Mashiach over Gan Eden.31

The revelation of Gan Eden is granted to souls without bodies, while the revelation of the Era of Mashiach wi l l be in our material world (as evidenced by the saying,32 "The very land of Israel wi l l produce wafers").

The reason for this difference is that within Gan Eden the Divine light which is revealed, the light of memale [kol almin], is limited in nature. Hence, its revelation does not extend to the material plane. In the Era of Mashiach, by contrast, the infinite dimension of the Or Ein Sof w i l l be revealed. There¬fore, this revelation wi l l encompass the material plane as well.

There is yet another difference [between the revelation of Gan Eden and the revelation of the Era of Mashiach. Gan Eden

31. With regard to the concepts which follow, see the series of maamarim 5672 [entitled BeShaah SheHikdimu], Vol. I I , chs. 379-380 (p. 779ff.).

32. Shabbos 30b, and sources cited there.


is characterized by a continual process of achievement, while the Era of Mashiach is characterized by rest.]

[To explain:] In general, Gan Eden is conceived of as being divided into two levels, the lower Gan Eden and the higher Gan Eden. Each one of these levels subdivides into an infinite number of strata.33 As our Sages say,34 "Torah scholars have no rest... 'they proceed from strength to strength,' " 3 5 [i.e.,] they constantly advance from level to level.

The phrase "they have no rest" implies that their elevation from level to level is attained through [effort and] spiritual service [as opposed to a state of "rest"].

To advance [to a higher rung in Gan Eden], the souls must first immerse in the River Dinur.36 This immersion causes them to forget the comprehension [of G-dliness] and the [resulting] delight [which they experienced] on the lower level 3 7 [of Gan Eden and thus opens up their sensitivity to the higher level].

The actual advance [to the higher level] comes through the medium of the "pillar" 3 8 that exists between each level and the one above it. The pillar also nullifies the soul's previous degree of comprehension. The difference [between immersion in the River Dinur and elevation through the pillar] is, that the

33. Iggeres HaKodesh, Epistle 17. 34. Conclusion of Tractate Berachos, and see additional sources cited

there. 35. Tehillim 84:8. 36. [An Aramaic term meaning "river of fire." By immersing itself in this

river, the soul burns away all vestiges of material consciousness.] 37. Zohar I , 201a; I I , 211b, 247a; Introduction to Tikkunei Zohar (p. 17a).

See also Torah Or, Parshas Mikeitz, p. 31b, 32d, Megillas Esther, p. 96a; Ki Yishalcha 5679, ch. 1 (Sefer HaMaamarim, op. cit., p. 352); Ki Yishalcha 5700, ch. 1 (Sefer HaMaamarim, op. cit., p. 45). See also Maamarei Admur HaEmtzai, Vayikra I I , pp. 821-822, and additional sources cited there.

38. See Zohar I , 219a; I I , 211a. See also Maamarei Admur HaZakein, Parshiyos HaTorah I I , p. 773, and additional sources cited in the sec¬tion of references (p. 984).


immersion in the River Dinur centers on the nullification of [the comprehension experienced on] the lower level. The nulli¬fication achieved through the pillar, by contrast, comes as a result of the revelation of the light that shines down from the higher level. 3 9

This is the intent of the statement that the elevation from level to level [in Gan Eden] comes about through spiritual service ("they have no rest"): i.e., the service of nullification. Thus it resembles our divine service — avodah — in this world.

The term avodah (עבודה) is related to the expression ibud oros (עיבוד עורות) — "refining leather."40 For our avodah is intended for the purpose of "refining created beings"4 1 and bringing about self-nullification.

Our divine service on the earthly plane involves two thrusts: "refraining from evil" and "doing good."42 Similarly, parallels can be seen with regard to the nullification involved in ascending to a higher rung within Gan Eden: The nullifica¬tion of the River Dinur resembles, as it were, refraining from evil, and the nullification that results from the pillar, which, as explained above, comes as a result of [the appreciation of] a higher light, resembles our endeavors to do good.

This entire mode [of nullification and ascent] is relevant to Gan Eden, but not to the revelations that wi l l characterize the Era of Mashiach. Although in that era there wi l l also be con¬tinuous ascents, they wi l l not involve going "from strength to strength"; i.e., there wi l l be no need for a process of nullifica-

39. See at length in the series of discourses entitled Yom Tov Shel Rosh HaShanah 5666, p. 15.

40. Torah Or, Parshas Mishpatim, p. 76a. See Likkutei Torah, Parshas Vayikra, p. 2d, et al.

41. Bereishis Rabbah, beginning of ch. 44, and additional sources cited there.

42. [Cf. Tehillim 34:15.]


tion and surging upward to ascend from a lower level to a higher level. Rather, the elevation to the higher level [will not require the nullification of the previous level. Instead,] as one exists on one's previous level, one wi l l be able to comprehend a higher rung. (Additional explanation [of this concept] is, nevertheless, still required.)

To elaborate on this theme: [As mentioned above, the revelations of Gan Eden derive from the light of

memale kol almin, G-d's immanent light, which enclothes itself within the various created beings.] The light of memale is drawn down to animate and bring into existence created beings through the pattern of hishtalshelus; [different levels of exis¬tence, one less refined than the other which are, like a chain, connected one to the other as] they extend downward.

First [this light is] vested in refined spiritual beings. After¬wards, it becomes vested in lower created beings, which [are inferior to the spiritual creations to the extent that their exis¬tence] can be described as an analogy to the higher form of existence. [I.e., just as an analogy uses an utterly different matter to illustrate the analogue, and yet the same pattern can be seen in both of them, so, too, the lower mode of existence is an entirely different form, but reflects the pattern of the higher mode.]

[This downward progression continues,] with the light being vested in even lower levels.4 3 Thus the verse,44 "He of¬fered three thousand parables" [is interpreted to refer to three thousand levels of descent, i.e., from the highest realm in the world of Beriah to our material world, 4 5 each level appearing as a parable and an analogy to the level above i t ] .

43. See at length in Sefer HaMaamarim 5679, p. 315ff., et al. 44. I Melachim 5:12. See also Torah Or, Megillas Esther 98b, et al. 45. [Each of the three worlds — Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah — can be

described as having 1000 levels. For 1000 is ten cubed, a number re¬sulting from the interrelation of the Ten Sefiros.]


On this basis, it is possible to explain why the ascents within Gan Eden (which reflects the light of memale kol almin as mentioned above) from level to level require the nullifica¬tion of the previous level [of consciousness]. [This represents the direct opposite of] the process of drawing down [the light of memale kol almin. For that process involves] enclothing the light in a series of garments, one less refined than the next. The process of ascent, by contrast, involves divesting these garments and nullifying the previous level. 4 6

{On this basis, it is also possible to explain the statement mentioned in many discourses,47 that even the souls of the Pa¬triarchs and Moshe Rabbeinu, who have dwelled in the upper level of Gan Eden for more than three thousand years, wi l l descend and again be enclothed in bodies [in the Era of Resur¬rection]. Since the revelation of the Era of Resurrection is vastly superior to the revelation of Gan Eden — even of [the most sublime levels] of the higher level of Gan Eden — [these souls wi l l eagerly descend to receive this revelation].

The mention of "three thousand years" in the above ex¬pression parallels the "three thousand parables" mentioned previously and corresponds to the three worlds of Beriah, Yetzi-rah and Asiyah, for each world contains one thousand levels.

The statement "who have dwelled in the higher level of Gan Eden for more than three thousand years" implies that during this period of time, these souls have divested them¬selves of all the garments (parables) of the three worlds of Beriah, Yetzirah and Asiyah. Thus, dwelling in Gan Eden for more than three thousand years means that [they have tran¬scended these levels] and have even attained the state of Atzi-

46. See the series of discourses entitled Yom Tov Shel Rosh HaShanah 5666, loc. cit.

47. Sefer HaMaamarim 5654, p. 220; the series of maamarim 5672 [en¬titled BeShaah SheHikdimu], loc. cit. (beginning of p. 780); Sefer Ha-Maamarim — Kuntreisim, Vol. I I , p. 412a, et al.


lus. Nevertheless, they too wi l l descend into our material world and be clothed in bodies [at the time of the Resurrection]. For the revelation of the Resurrection wi l l surpass that of Gan Eden, even the [higher] revelations of Gan Eden that come after [the light has been] divested of all its garments.}

[To summarize: an ascent to a higher level in Gan Eden requires that one first depart from his present spiritual station.] The ascent to a higher level [of consciousness] that wi l l take place during the Era of Mashiach, by contrast, wi l l not necessi¬tate a departure from one's present level. [This wi l l be possible, because at that time,] the Or Ein Sof which has no limits wi l l be revealed. As such, the revelation wi l l be manifest on the material plane as well.

Even the revelation of the Era of Mashiach w i l l reflect [only] the light of sovev kol almin. There¬

fore, even in this era, there wi l l be varying levels of revelation (as explained above). The revelation of the Resurrection, how¬ever, wi l l (as a whole) be the same for all Jews.48 For in the Era of Resurrection the essence of the Or Ein Sof that transcends [all possibilities of] division wi l l be revealed.

There wi l l be two aspects to this revelation:

(a) The revelation of the essence of the Or Ein Sof that [the Jewish people] wi l l have drawn down through their observance of the mitzvos. This wi l l raise the Jewish people themselves to a higher level. 4 9

48. Likkutei Torah, Parshas Shelach, p. 46d; the series of maamarim 5672 [entitled BeShaah SheHikdimu], Vol. I I , p. 1, 112; see there.

49. To explain by referring to a similar concept. It is well known that [a soul] cannot attain the revelation of the Resurrection of the Dead without first receiving the revelation of Gan Eden. (See at length in the discourse entitled HaYosheves BaGanim 5713, ch. 8, in Sefer Ha-Maamarim — Melukat, Vol. I I , p. 235). So, too, with regard to the revelation of the Resurrection of the Dead itself: First, there must be the revelation associated with the observance of the mitzvos. After-

VII


(b) The revelation of the innate [G-dliness] of the Jewish people, who are "the branch of My planting, the work of My hands, in which I take pride."

This quality of the Jewish people is even loftier than the revelation of G-dliness that they draw down through their study of the Torah and their observance of the mitzvos. For the source of Jewish souls is G-d's essence (higher than the source of the Torah and its mitzvos), and similarly, the Jewish body was cho¬sen by G-d's essence.50

wards, it is possible for the source of Jewish souls, inasmuch as they are rooted in G-d's essence, to be revealed.

50. Tanya, ch. 49 (end of p. 69a ff.). See also Toras Shalom, p. 120.

157

A P P E N D I X 2

" A L L I S R A E L H A V E

A S H A R E I N T H E

W D R L D T D C D M E "

A C H A S S I D I C D I S C O U R S E

In* the above-quoted mishnah,1 the term "World to Come" refers to the Era of Resurrection,2 as indicated by the con-

This maamar, delivered by the Rebbe on Shabbos Parshas Acharei, 5733 [1973], appears in Sefer HaMaamarim — Melukat, Vol. IV, p.

The above English version, footnotes included, is taken almost verbatim from Anticipating the Redemption: Maamarim of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, Concerning the Era of Redemption, translated by R. Eliyahu Touger and R. Sholem Ber Wineberg (Sichos In English, N.Y., 1994), p. 40ff. The reader wil l note that this version intentionally reflects the distinctive flavor and style of presentation that characterizes all maamarim.

Parentheses () indicate parentheses in the original Hebrew text; square brackets [] indicate additions made by the translators; squiggle brackets {} indicate square brackets in the original Hebrew text.

1. Sanhedrin 10:1. 2. Bartenura (and others) on Sanhedrin, loc. cit.; Midrash Shmuel, be¬

ginning of Pirkei Avos.

177ff.


tinuation of the mishnah which states, "And the following do not have a share in the World to Come: He who denies that the concept of the resurrection has a source in the Torah."

Why is such a person not granted [a share in the World to Come]? Because, as the Gemara goes on to explain:3 "He denied the Resurrection of the Dead, therefore he wi l l not have a share in this Resurrection — measure for measure."

Thus [the Era of Resurrection] is the intent in the expres¬sion "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come." [Indeed, there is no alternative to this explanation. In other contexts, the term "the World to Come" is used to refer to] Gan Eden, [the Garden of Eden, the abode of the souls in the spiritual realms.4 We cannot say that every Jew has a share in Gan Eden, for entry to Gan Eden is restricted,] as it is written, 5

"Who may ascend the mountain of G-d ... ? He who has clean hands and a pure heart " I.e., there are many requirements for entering Gan Eden, even the lower level of Gan Eden.6 [No such restrictions apply regarding] the Era of Resurrection. [On the contrary,] "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come."7

This surely requires explanation, for the revelations that wi l l characterize the Era of Resurrection wi l l far surpass those

3. Sanhedrin 90a. 4. [Although the Garden of Eden refers to a physical place on this earth

as reflected in the narrative of creation, the term is also used, in a figurative sense, to refer to the abode of incorporate souls in the spiritual realms.]

5. Tehillim 24:3-4. 6. See the discourse Ki Yishalcha, cited in the note that follows. See also

the series of maamarim 5672 [entitled BeShaah SheHikdimu], Vol. I I , beginning of ch. 379 (foot of p. 779).

Chagigah 15b states that were it not for the prayers of R. Meir, Acher would not have entered Gan Eden (i.e., even the lower level of Gan Eden).

7. Ki Yishalcha 5679 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5679, foot of p. 351ff.) and Ki Yishalcha 5700 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5700, end of p. 44ff.).

" A L L I S R A E L H A V E A S H A R E I N T H E W D R L D T D C D M E " 153

of Gan Eden.8 [This applies] even regarding the revelations within the higher level of Gan Eden — and indeed, those of the most sublime levels of Gan Eden.

{The concept [that the revelation that wi l l characterize the Era of Resurrection is vastly superior to even the most lofty levels of Gan Eden] can be appreciated by the very fact that, at that time, all Jews wi l l be resurrected. This wi l l include even those souls that have been in Gan Eden for many thousands of years and which thrice daily are elevated to higher levels [of Gan Eden]. Nevertheless, they too wi l l be clothed in bodies in the World to Come. [And they wi l l eagerly desire to do so, be¬cause] the revelation that wi l l characterize the Era of Resur¬rection is vastly superior to the revelation of even the most sublime level of Gan Eden.9}

[The question is thus reinforced]: Why is it that the lower rung, the level of Gan Eden, has many prerequisites which must be met i f one is to merit its revelations, while the [far superior level, the] revelation of the Era of Resurrection, is the lot of all Jews?

n The above [question] can be resolved through a broader explanation of the concept that the revelation

that wi l l characterize the Era of Resurrection wi l l far surpass the revelations of Gan Eden.

8. This follows the opinion of Ramban, conclusion of Shaar HaGemul (Edition Chavel, p. 309) [in contrast to the statements of Rambam in the Mishneh Torah, Hilchos Teshuvah, chs. 8, 9). [Ramban's opinion is echoedy in the conclusive decision of Chassidus. See Likkutei Torah, Parshas Tzav, p. 15c, Derushim leShabbos Shuvah, p. 65d; Sefer HaMitzvos of the Tzemach Tzedek, Mitzvas Tzitzis, p. 14b; Or HaTorah, Parshas Chukas (foot of p. 809; ibid., Vol. V, p. 1637). Significantly, in his discourses the Alter Rebbe mentions only the opinion of Ram-ban.

9. Ki Yishalcha 5654 (Sefer HaMaamarim 5654, p. 220); BeShaah She-Hikdimu 5672, loc. cit. (beginning of p. 780); Sefer HaMaamarim — Kuntreisim, Vol. I I , p. 412a, et al.

IBD ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

Seemingly, [the opposite should be true]. Gan Eden refers to the world of the souls (where the soul's perception is not limited by a physical body). In the Era of Resurrection, by contrast, the souls wi l l [again] be clothed in bodies. Why then wi l l there be an even greater degree of revelation in the Era of Resurrection, when souls wi l l be clothed in bodies, than there is in Gan Eden?

It is true that in the Era of Resurrection, the body wi l l be purified to the utmost, to the extent that it wi l l resemble the body of [the first man], Adam HaRishon, ([who was] formed1 0 by G-d's own hands)11 [and whose refinement was so great] that [he] "obscured the orb of the sun."1 2 Indeed, in the Era of Res¬urrection, the body wi l l attain a state of perfection greater even than that of Adam HaRishon.13

[The extreme level of refinement that wi l l characterize the body] can explain why in the Era of Resurrection, the souls vested in bodies wi l l be fit vessels to receive a degree of reve¬lation that is higher than the level which is presently received by souls in an incorporate state [in the spiritual realms]. This, however, does not explain why the revelation in the Era of Resurrection wi l l be appreciated by souls as they are clothed within bodies. [Seemingly, since the body restricts the extent of the revelation the soul can perceive, it would be preferable

10. See Bereishis Rabbah 24:5; Koheles Rabbah 3:11 (2). 11. See at length in Sefer HaMaamarim 5679, p. 415; Sefer HaMaamarim

5711, p. 209. [These sources explain] that since [in the Era of Resur¬rection] the body wil l be formed by G-d through the "dew of resurrec¬tion," the body wil l be on a level comparable to the body of Adam HaRishon, which was formed by G-d's own hands.

12. Vayikra Rabbah 20:2; conclusion of Midrash Mishlei. See also Intro¬duction to Tikkunei Zohar, p. 10b. Examine also Bava Basra 58a.

Sefer HaMaamarim 5679 and 5711, loc. cit., state: "His body was as refined and pure as light ... his body was like matter to form, i.e., the soul, for they were comparable one to another."

13. See Sefer HaMaamarim 5679 and 5711, loc. cit.

" A L L I S R A E L H A V E A S H A R E I N T H E W D R L D T D C D M E " IBI

for the souls to receive these revelations without being encum¬bered by a body.]

Even in the Era of Resurrection, when the body wi l l attain a state of absolute perfection, it wi l l still be a physical body — and the inherent limitations of a physical entity are greater than those of a spiritual entity. 1 4 These include the limitations of time and space, characteristics that apply (primarily) to physical entities.1 5 Nevertheless, in order for the soul to be able to receive the revelation of the Era of Resurrection, it must again be vested within a physical body.

[Indeed, there is a fundamental difference in the approach taken to receive the revelations of Gan Eden and the approach taken to receive the revelation that wi l l characterize the Era of Resurrection]: In order to receive the revelations of Gan Eden, the soul must first divest itself of [all] material consciousness. [This implies a departure of the soul from the body, i.e., death. Afterwards,] the soul must immerse itself in the River Dinur,16

in order that it be unable to recall any images of this world. 1 7

14. Also noteworthy is the statement, cited above in footnote 12, that Adam HaRishon's body (and so, too, the body in the Era of Resurrec¬tion) was as "matter to form." We understand from this that even when the body is totally refined, "form" is still loftier than "matter".

15. Spiritual entities are also subject to [the limitations of] time and space [as these characteristics exist in a spiritual sense. These limitations, however,] stem from the fact that such entities can be considered as "physical" in comparison to absolute spirituality. Cf. Tanya, ch. 48 (p. 67b): " In spiritual matters, the characteristic of space is in no way applicable." And there the intent is space insofar as it exists in spiri¬tual terms.

16. [An Aramaic term meaning "river of fire." By immersing itself in this river, the soul burns away all vestiges of material consciousness.]

17. Zohar I , 201a; Ki Yishalcha 5679, sec. 1 (Sefer HaMaamarim, ibid., p. 352); Ki Yishalcha 5700, sec. 1 (Sefer HaMaamarim, ibid., p. 45). See also Lehavin Inyan Techiyas HaMeisim 5746, sec. 5 (Sefer Ha-Maamarim — Melukat, Vol. I I I , p. 36) and the sources cited there. [See Appendix 1 above.]

IB2 ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

{Similarly, in regard to the subsequent ascents [of the soul] within Gan Eden itself: As the soul ascends to a higher level, it must forget the [frame of] reference and the spiritual pleasure it experienced on the lower level.} 1 8

[In contrast to this thrust to ascent,] an opposite movement is necessary [for the soul] to receive the revelation of the Era of Resurrection: [The soul descends and] enclothes itself within a physical body.

m [ T h e above difficulties can be resolved by consider¬ing the following concept:] It is written, 1 9 "This is

the Torah of man..."; i.e., the Torah resembles man. Just as man is a composite of body and soul, so, too, the Torah possesses [dimensions comparable to] a body and a soul.

In a general sense, this reflects the difference between the Torah and its mitzvos:20 The 248 [positive] mitzvos are the 248 "limbs of the King," 2 1 comparable [in analogy] to a person's limbs. The Torah, by contrast, can be compared to the blood, referred to as "the soul," 2 2 [for it is the medium] that draws life into the limbs of [the body, i.e.,] the mitzvos.23

[The analogy between the mitzvos and a body can be taken further. Just as a body lives within a time and space contin¬uum,] so too, [the observance of] the mitzvos is governed by time and space. There are designated times and places for their observance. The Torah, by contrast, transcends time and

18. Ibid. 19. Bamidbar 19:4. See also Sefer HaMaamarim 5701, p. 99. 20. Sefer HaMaamarim 5701 (see also Zohar I I I , 152a) speaks of the body

and soul of the Torah itself. [This does not contradict the concepts explained above.] For [the Torah and its mitzvos] are incorporated one within the other, therefore the Torah also possesses a body (as the mitzvos possess a soul — for the intent of the mitzvos is their soul).

21. See Tikkunei Zohar, Tikkun 30 (p. 74a), quoted in Tanya, ch. 4, and beginning of ch. 23.

22. Devarim 12:23. 23. Likkutei Torah, Parshas Bamidbar, p. 3a.

" A L L I S R A E L H A V E A S H A R E I N T H E W D R L D T D C D M E " IBS

space. {Therefore, "A person who occupies himself in [studying] the laws of a burnt-offering is considered as i f he had actually offered i t . " 2 4 This applies even when [he studies] at a time [inappropriate for bringing an offering] and in a place [where an offering] may not be sacrificed.}25

[Based on the above analogy, we can resolve the difficulty initially raised:] The body (and similarly, the mitzvos, which are compared to the body) are confined by the limits of time and space. The soul (and similarly, the Torah which is com¬pared to the soul) are spiritual and transcend time and space.

A parallel to the relationship between the Torah and its mitzvos applies in relation to a person who studies Torah and performs mitzvos: Torah study involves primarily the soul, while the performance of mitzvos involves primarily the body.26

It is known 2 7 that the Torah's superiority over its mitzvos applies only as [these entities exist after being] drawn down into a revealed state [in our world]. In their source, however, mitzvos are on a superior level. For the Torah is the wisdom of G-d, blessed be He, while the mitzvos represent His will, and the level of wi l l surpasses that of wisdom.2 8

Moreover, even after the Torah and its mitzvos are drawn down [into this world], the superiority of the mitzvos is readily apparent. For the Torah serves as an exposition and interpreta-

24. Conclusion of Menachos; Shulchan Aruch Admur HaZakein, Ma-hadura Tinyana, end of ch. 1; Hilchos Talmud Torah 2:11. See also Likkutei Sichos, Vol. X V I I I , p. 413, footnote 25, and the addendum to that footnote.

25. Likkutei Torah, loc. cit. 26. See Tanya, ch. 35 (foot of p. 44a ff.); ibid., ch. 37 (p. 49a-b), et al. 27. Likkutei Torah, Parshas Acharei, p. 28a, et al. Note that Likkutei

Torah, on p. 26d ff., speaks of the superior quality of the Torah in re¬lation to its mitzvos (quoting the passage of Likkutei Torah cited in footnote 21). Nevertheless, even this text (p. 28a) states that mitzvos are rooted in a higher source.

28. Sefer HaMitzvos of the Tzemach Tzedek, p. 15b, et al.

IB4 ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

tion of the mitzvos.29 [This implies that there is a superior qual¬ity to the mitzvos that the Torah can merely explain.]

We can appreciate that similar concepts apply with regard to the soul and body of man {which resemble the Torah and its mitzvos}: Although the body receives its vitality from the soul, the source of the body is superior to the source of the soul.

{[These concepts are reflected in the relationship between G-d and the Jewish people:] As explained in other sources,30

G-d's loving connection with the souls of the Jewish people resembles a natural love, as it were, akin to a father's love for his child. It is in this vein that it is written, 3 1 "You are children unto G-d, your L-rd." [Although this reflects a very lofty form of love, even this love has its limitations.] It is rooted in a level [within G-dliness] where the import of [the souls], the objects of [G-d's] love, is recognized. [Since there is an external source — the souls' positive virtues — which motivates this love,] it does not emanate from His essence itself.

G-d's loving connection with the bodies of the Jewish peo¬ple, by contrast, does not stem (from [an appreciation of] the inherent virtue of their bodies. Nor does this choice reflect [the relationship between a father and] his child, who share a fun¬damental connection. Instead, [this love] comes about because G-d chooses the Jewish body.32 And this choice is entirely free, [with no restrictions upon it, and no rationale which compels i t ] . 3 3 [Such a preference has only one possible source,] His very essence.}

29. Likkutei Torah, Parshas Acharei, loc. cit., p. 26d. 30. See Sefer HaMaamarim — Melukat, Vol. I I I , p. 276. 31. Devarim 14:1. See the beginning of ch. 2 of Tanya, which explains

that this refers to the soul's relationship with G-d. 32. Tanya, ch. 49 (end of p. 69a ff.). See also Toras Shalom, p. 120. 33. [The intent is that G-d's essential love for the bodies of the Jewish

people does not result from an awareness of their positive qualities. Were that to be the case, the love would be only as strong as the Jews'

" A L L I S R A E L H A V E A S H A R E I N T H E W D R L D T D C D M E " IBS

This explains why the soul, [a refined spiritual entity,] can be drawn down to animate the body. Since the body is superior to the soul in its source, [it has the power to motivate the soul to descend and grant it life].

(Following a similar motif, we find the Torah explains and expounds the mitzvos. [As explained above, it directs its focus in this direction], because the source of the mitzvos is superior to that of the Torah).

There is [another] difference between the Torah and its mitzvos [which is relevant in this context]: A l l

Jews are equally obligated in the observance of the mitzvos. In regard to Torah study, by contrast, there are a multitude of categories: [At one end of the spectrum are] those whose sole occupation is the study of the Torah. There are those who have the opportunity, and who are hence obligated, to actually "toil in Torah study during the day and at night." 3 4 [At the other end of the spectrum are] people who are occupied in commerce who may discharge their obligation by studying "one chapter [of the Torah] in the morning and one chapter in the evening."35

The reason for this difference is explained as follows:3 6

Mitzvos are G-d's wi l l (as stated above), and [the quality of] wi l l defies division. The Torah, by contrast, is Divine wisdom, and wisdom is subject to diversity. 3 7

virtues. Rather, His love for us comes as a result of His choice, a fac¬tor that transcends the entire range of human virtue (or its absence).]

34. Yehoshua 1:8. 35. Menachos 99b; Hilchos Talmud Torah of the Alter Rebbe, 3:4. 36. The series of maamarim 5672 [entitled BeShaah SheHikdimu], Vol. I ,

ch. 4 (p. 8), ch. 52 (p. 93). 37. [The intent is that wi l l is undefined. When a person wants something,

his attention is not directed to the entity insofar as it exists within its own context, but insofar as it is the focus of his desires. Intellect, of which wisdom is the first quality, by contrast has as its goal the com-

IBB ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

This motif can also be applied with regard to actual Torah study and performance of mitzvos. The mitzvos are performed by all Jews: "Even the sinners among Israel are as filled with mitzvos as a pomegranate [is filled with seeds]."38 This is not the case with regard to Torah study.

[The rationale for this concept can be explained as follows:] It is only on an overt level 3 9 that some measure of fault may be found in a Jew; [in essence, all Jews are fundamentally good. Accordingly, with regard to Torah study, which relates primarily to the Jews' souls, at a level of revelation, the possibility for inadequacy exists. In regard to the performance of mitzvos, by contrast,] since mitzvos express G-d's wi l l and relate to the [Jew's] body which was chosen by G-d's essence, they are of universal relevance [and are observed] by all Jews.

V T h i s , then, 4 0 is the meaning of the teaching, "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come." Although the

revelations in the World to Come (the Era of Resurrection) are vastly superior to the revelations of Gan Eden, nevertheless, this [loftier degree of] revelation wi l l be [accessible] to all Jews.

By way of explanation: [The revelations of] Gan Eden re¬flect [merely] the Torah that one has studied in this world. The revelation in the World to Come, by contrast, wi l l be the result

prehension of an entity as it is. This necessitates the appreciation of the various qualities the entity possesses.]

38. Conclusion of Chagigah. 39. The soul is also rooted in G-d's essence. Nevertheless, it is possible to

say that since G-d's love for the Jews' [souls] is similar to a natural love (as explained earlier in the text), therefore, when compared to G-d's essential choice [to love and to be connected to] the bodies of the Jewish people, [His relation to our souls] reflects an aspect of revelation [and not essence]. This subject still requires further expla¬nation.

40. With regard to the subjects to be explained see also the maamar enti¬tled Lehavin Inyan Techiyas HaMeisim 5746, cited in footnote 17 above, sec. 2, and the sources cited there. (See Appendix 1 above.)

" A L L I S R A E L H A V E A S H A R E I N T H E W D R L D T D C D M E " IB?

of the mitzvos that are presently performed. Since, as explained previously, the observance of mitzvos relates to all Jews, "Every Jew has a share in the World to Come."

This [also] explains why the revelations of the Era of Res¬urrection wi l l be appreciated by souls as they are clothed within bodies. For the performance of mitzvos is primarily related to the body, as explained above.

[The fact that the revelations of the Era of Resurrection wi l l relate primarily to our bodies, for they are associated with the actual observance of the mitzvos, does not exclude our souls. On the contrary,] it is possible to explain that the revelations of the Era of Resurrection wi l l be appreciated by the souls as well (as they vest themselves within bodies).

To cite a parallel concept: Our Sages state, "Great is Torah study, for it leads to action." 4 1 The fact that Torah study leads to action amplifies the greatness of the study itself. {[This relates to a concept] explained in the series of discourses /entitled Yom Tov Shel Rosh HaShanah] 5666:42 When a per¬son's Torah study is directed to discovering a ruling pertaining to the actual performance of a mitzvah, he wi l l toil to a greater extent. Accordingly, he wi l l obtain a deeper understanding of the Torah concepts he is studying.}

[To apply this concept to the analogue: Since the soul's Torah study leads to the body's performance of mitzvos, the soul wi l l also enjoy the benefits that wi l l be appreciated by the body — the revelation of the World to Come.]

Similarly, the Torah of the World to Come, the Torah of Mashiach, w i l l be characterized by two dimensions: The Torah in and of itself wi l l reach a level of completeness. In addition, we wi l l appreciate the superior quality of Torah that results from its connection to the mitzvos.

41. Kiddushin 40b; Bava Kama 17a. 42. P. 390ff.

IBS ז • L I V E A N D L I V E A G A I N

[A similar concept applies in regard to the soul in the Era of Resurrection.] At that time, the source of all the souls wi l l be revealed. In addition, the soul wi l l also be granted the revelation that is associated with the body ([and that results from] G-d's essential choice of the body).

May it be G-d's wi l l , that as a result of our deeds and divine service, especially through the service of "spreading forth your wellsprings outward,"4 3 we wi l l be privileged to study the Torah of Mashiach, from the mouth of Mashiach, in the immediate future.

43. As stated in the famous letter of the Baal Shem Tov, printed at the beginning of Keser Shem Tov, the spreading of the wellsprings of Chassidus precipitates "the coming of the master" — the King Mashiach.

O T H E R R E C E N T T I T L E S I S S U E D B Y S . I . E . P U B L I C A T I O N S

Proceeding Together, the early talks of the Rebbe, in 1950 (1995) Sichos In English, selected talks 1978-92, free translations, 51 vols. In the Garden of the Torah, insights in the weekly Torah Readings, 2

vols. (1994-95) Timeless Patterns in Time, Chassidic Insights into the Cycle of the

Jewish Year, 2 vols. (1993-94) In the Paths of Our Fathers, insights in the Ethics of the Fathers

(1994) A Partner in the Dynamic of Creation, on womanhood (1995)

Basi LeGani, Yud Shvat 5711 (1951), first chassidic discourse delivered by the Rebbe (1990)

Sefer HaMinhagim, Chabad-Lubavitch Customs (1992) To Know and to Care, contemporary chassidic stories about the

Rebbe (1993) Please Tell Me What the Rebbe Said, Torah insights for children, 2

vols. (1993-95) At Our Rebbe's Seder Table, commentary and stories (1995) From Exile to Redemption, chassidic teachings on the future Re¬

demption and Mashiach (1992) I Await His Coming Every Day, analytical studies of Maimonides'

rulings on Mashiach and the Redemption (1991) Sound the Great Shofar, essays on the imminence of the Redemption

(1992) Seek Out the Welfare of Jerusalem, analytical studies of Maimonides'

rulings concerning the construction and design of the Holy Temple (1994)

Anticipating the Redemption, chassidic discourses of the Lubavitcher Rebbe concerning the era of Redemption (1994)

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